 Healthy
Eating Kids
- Clean Plate Club Dropout
By Kelly Tetrault-Stellato of Nutrition & Healthy Solutions
You can’t leave the table until you clean your plate?” “There are children
starving all over the world, you are not going to waste food, now finish
those last bites.” “No dessert until you clean your plate.” Sound familiar?
My childhood feeding memories are peppered with statements like these. My
mother didn’t mean any harm, she just wanted me to be well fed.
Unfortunately, these statements are subtle force-feeding, and will cause a
negative relationship with food that can lead to overfeeding and overweight
children.
Parents need to really dissect these old feeding statements and myths to
evaluate if they make sense. Children enjoy desserts and if parents tell
children that they have to finish their dinner before they get dessert, two
things will happen. One, the dessert is no longer food; it is now a prize, a
reward. A wonderful thing that you must work for to get to. When desserts
become more than what they really are, children will desire them more.
Secondly, making a child finish their plate before they get dessert will
lead to increased calorie and fat intake. I saw a mother at a restaurant the
other day insisting that her five year old finish her meal (which was a hot
dog and fries) or else she wouldn’t get ice cream. Does that make sense? No.
It’s like saying, if you don’t eat all of this fried and unhealthy food than
you can’t have the high sugar and fat dessert. Silly, right? Children will
eat their dinner just to get to the dessert and will ultimately be consuming
more calories, fat, sugar, sodium, etc., than then they need or wanted. They
will do what they have to in order to win the dessert so why not save them
some fat and calories by not insisting they finish those few last fries and
bites of hot dog.
When the child appears to be finished eating a smarter suggestion is to ask
them if they are full. If they are full, that’s great. They have done what
most adults fail miserably at. They stopped eating when they were full. If
they are full, don’t even mention dessert. If they say, “No, I’m not full
but I’m saving room for dessert,” that’s great too. They understand that
they want dessert but don’t want to be overstuffed. Let them have the
dessert, and don’t make such a big deal about. It’s only a dessert. If they
begin to understand that dessert is no big deal, it will be less appealing.
It is up to the care provider to determine what and when to feed the child
but do yourself and the child a favour, let them decide how much to eat.
Children that eat all of their vegetables because they aren’t allowed to
leave the table before they finish are not going to like vegetables. They
will hate them and resent you.
Instead, encourage them to try foods but let them decide if they like them
or if they are going to eat them at all. Children that are not forced to
finish what is on their plate have a better relationship with food and are
also less likely to become overweight later in life. Children that aren’t
forced to clean their plate enjoy a wider variety of foods, especially
fruits and vegetables. This is because they haven’t had a negative
interaction with them.
I have had parents tell me they don’t let their child get up from the table
because they like the company and being able to spend time with their
family. So, the parent makes the child clean the plate, or keep eating so
that they don’t leave to go play. Eating as a family is very beneficial for
all family members so I appreciate it when parents tell me they don’t want
their child to get up from the table. This is what you can do instead of
making your child overeat; tell your child that you understand that they are
finished eating but since they are a member of the family they will stay at
the table and talk with everyone. Let the child pick the topic of
conversation. This way, the child will stay at the table, and they will look
forward to meal times as a social, fun time with the family. You will create
a pleasant, healthy mealtime for everyone.
After my childhood years had past, I found myself still cleaning my plate
because that’s what mom told me. I kept eating after I was full because I
didn’t want to waste any food. I could visualize those starving children.
Soon I realized that it didn’t make sense to eat until uncomfortably full.
So, I quit. I quit the “Clean Plate Club”. It still happens from time to
time though, especially when I go out for dinner.
Sometimes when I go out to restaurants I almost feel the desire to clean my
plate, the food tastes great, the atmosphere is relaxing, it’s hard to stop
eating before your plate is clean. More than often though, when I’m at a
restaurant I check-in with my stomach every few minutes. Am I still hungry?
If the answer is “No”, I stop eating.
About the starving children and wasting food, send a donation to food
security agencies if you are concerned about the starving children all over
the world. Making your child eat all their brussels sprouts will not help
the hunger problems of the world; it won’t even make your child appreciate
the food more. It will however make your child feel guilty every time they
throw away food.
Do you really want your child to eat out of guilt? I didn’t think so.
Kelly L. Tetrault-Stellato, M.S., R.D., L.D.N. is a Registered & Licensed
Dietitian/Nutritionist, certified personal trainer, weight management
consultant & certified hypnotherapist. Contact Nutrition & Healthy Solutions
at 413.783.3344.
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