Do you force your teenager

[ItsLightheartedHonest]

To eat food they don't like for their evening meal?
For example, if you are having a relatively unhealthy evening meal such as sausage, chips and beans and you know your teen hates sausage do you serve it to them and expect them to eat it or would you replace the sausage with something equally unhealthy like chicken nuggets etc?
Said teenager is not overweight, and generally eats plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Nope. But my children aren't especially fussy. Raw tomatoes seem to be the thing they really don't like.
I'm worse. DH made a fish pie for everyone, but knows I hate fish so made me chili with a baked potato instead. The kids loved the fish pie.

I wouldn't give them something they didn't like.
So no I wouldn't force them to eat it.
We would never force an adult to eat something they hated so why force a teenager or a child?
I don't think you can actually force someone to eat something anyway.

Food, for me, should always be enjoyable. When I cook for my family, or guests, I want them to enjoy it. I’d never expect anyone to eat something they don’t like.

My teen gets a full hot lunch at school, so he generally doesn’t want a full meal at dinner time. He makes a sandwich or heats up some soup or cooks some eggs for himself when he’s hungry. By contrast, DH and I usually have salads for lunch at work so do want a mail meal in the evening. I always say to DS “I’m making X for us would you like that too?” but nine times out of ten he’d rather make himself something else.

Whereas I agree with everyone that I wouldn't ever 'force' someone to eat anything they 'hate', I can't help feeling this is quite a loaded question / statement.
I do think it is just one of our many, many jobs as parents to encourage our dc to try different things, and also to foster an attitude of "well, it wouldn't be what I'd choose but it is what is for dinner today so I'll crack on with it" rather than this polarised "hating" things and the thing where parents (of dc without a special need or medical condition) just say "Oh, (s)he'll only eat nuggets" and don't put the work in to expand that palette.

Before you all come for me, I had one good eater and one really fussy eater. The fussy eater was much harder work, but that work was worth it.

Why would you serve someone food you know they don’t like?!

If it was a meal they usually liked and ate, it were feeling fussy/in a silly mood and said they didn’t want it, they wanted something else, it would be tough luck.

However if there’s something they actually don’t like, and have never liked…why the hell would I give it to them? If someone doesn’t like sausages and never has, why would I insist they eat them?

I would never force DD to eat anything, healthy or unhealthy

I was force fed things I didn't like and also have the memories.

I just find it amazing that of all the things there are that I did like, my mum chose the things I didn't like on such a regular basis. It isn't even as if I only liked the unhealthy stuff, I just don't like some root vegetables (turnips / parsnips etc).

No I would not force them. I encourage them to make healthy choices and I’d never expect anyone to eat food they don’t like

Why would you force them to eat something unhealthy? If it's a budgetary thing so you don't want them cooking up tomorrow's dinner themselves, then provide something else..
I couldn't be doing with the faff of cooking extra meals, so either I'd cook a different dinner for everyone, or provide a substitute, maybe a meal I'd made and frozen earlier.

There is a fine line - in your example then I would substitute as chucking in some nuggets along with the sausages is no extra work. Equally DD doesnt like mash so I make sure I do her another form of potato (or just take some boiled aside before I mash it)
If I was doing something like risotto that I know DS2 doesnt really like I would give him the heads up and he is welcome to make himself something else. He is 15 so perfectly capable. Same for all 3 kids as now older teens.

No child or young person should be forced to eat something they really dislike by a parent or other adult. It is abusive.

No , would you eat something you don’t like ? Although I agree with not cooking lots of different meals it’s mean to deliberately give them something they don’t like.

No I don’t, I make an alternative if I really must cook something I know DS won’t like. He’s 16 and always been fussier than younger DC so I know if I’m making pasta with mushrooms or tomatoes for example, he isn’t going to touch it. Generally will try to dish his up first without those additions or if I’m making fajitas, I just make him a cheese salad wrap for example.

Depends on the teen in our house.

I didnt lightly convince dd 16 to eat whatever we've made she would legit eat nothing a but couple of slices of toast with chocolate spread.
Shes classed as under weight (always has been since baby)

I wont serve her something that she truly hates like mashed potato or lasagne.
In your case I would just chuck some nuggets on as they take no longer to prepare than what your already making

No, but I just don’t make things that I know some of us don’t like. It’s not like I’m short of things to make!

I dont force. Sometimes teen accuses me of forcing her or starving her. What she means is that I wont walk to the chippy for her when she doesnt want whats on offer.

Well to physically force food into someone's mouth is assault. And I don't see how else you could make someone with their own free will eat something they don't like?

You don't have to replace the disliked item with something else if nothing else is available. You can ask them to make or buy the replacement themselves. Tell them to eat round it?

But no you can't 'force' someone to eat a sausage..

Same. Mealtimes in my childhood home were frequently akin to torture for me.

In years gone by, the majority of people did struggle financially to put food on the table or simply could not cope with wasting food (I'm the product of parents who lived through WW2 rationing), so we were expected to eat it whether we liked it or not, and be thankful we had food at all. My parents would always guilt-trip me and mention the 'starving children in Africa' and I should be grateful I had food.

No, if they don't like it, thet don't like it. I'll insist they try new things at least twice but if they dislike something, I wouldn't make them eat it. Its hardly any trouble to chuck a handful of nuggets on a tray instead of a couple of sausages. It's not like cooking a whole different meal.

Teenager is well on their way to becoming an adult, deffo old enough to know what they don't like the taste of. I'd never force feed anyone anything.

Starving children in Africa never worked in our house, us kids told our parents to send it to them.

I dont have kids but I would never force child teen or adult to eat something they dont like.
Neither would I force them to try.

I was raised by a mother that would force me to eat crap that I hated and some things really upset my stomach, other things i was allergic to but she knew best apparently.

Kids are now back from uni…. If they are eating with us they don’t get a choice, but they aren’t fussy and like my food. They are more enthused about some things than others (fish pie), but will eat most things.