to expect a 10 year old to finish his biscuit?

[bananatrifle]

I don't mind a child trying anything to see if they like it - it's a good thing in my mind as it widens their taste experiences. Anyway, I always give just a small amount of whatever it is (teaspoonful for example) and if they like it then they can have more. If they don't then nothing's lost.

However, surely a 10 year old should finish a small amaretti (spelling?) biscuit, not eat half of it, try to put it back on the plate and then say he was going to put it in the bin as he didn't like it. I can understand that they're not to everyone's liking, but I think it's rude to just not finish what you've started to eat. It's not a very big biscuit, and I think the principle is to just eat something that you've started.

No big deal really, just wondered what anyone else thought?

These biscuits are tiny, so it's not as if I was expecting him to finish a whole plateful of tripe. Wouldn't have filled up a mouse, let alone a 10 year old.

OP, Do you seriously believe it is rude not to finish the last mouthful of food that is put in front of you? Do you teach your DC that good manners, being thankful for the food is to eat every last mouthful? And if they don't, they are rude and impolite?
Or do you reserve this for your guests?

Personally, I think it is bad manners to expect a guest to finish things they do not like.

Nobody is talking about serving a huge helping of food to somebody and insisting they finish it. It is about somebody taking a very small helping of something of their own free will and then wanting to put it in the bin. Plain rude.

But if he does eat it, it is wasted too because he's eaten it without wanting it and he's made to feel uncomfortable by having to force something he doesn't like down. Why do that just for the sake of politeness? It's perfectly fine not to like something and to stop eating it for that reason.

toomuchmonthatendofthemoney

Having to finish a plate of food began long before WWII. Poor people have had to finish what they had over centuries. Yes, these days there are still many of us who had food rationed and were brought up not to waste food in any way at all, teaching our children the same ethic. These days, in the current economic mess, the same self-imposed rule applies. That biscuit would have cost money even in a packet and the 10-year-old should be taught that.

Yes I did teach my DC to be thankful for their food. They were given the right amount for their appetites as they were growing and were always given small amounts to start off with so they could ask for more if they wanted more.

This is a tiny biscuit though. Not a whole plateful of food.

My ds would have known that the correct form here is to deposit the half eaten biscuit in one's pocket with the conkers, empty cartridges, random bits of plastic etc

If you teach a child to always finish what is on their plate:

1 - they will be scared to try anything new because they will have to eat all of it even if they don't like it

2 - they will not listen to their feeling of hunger and will have more difficulty maintaining a healthy weight as an adult

It doesn't matter if it is a big helping or a small one, if you don't like it to be expected to eat it by a host is just plain rude.

I just don't understand how it is rude to be offered something, decide you don't like it (and aren't biscuits supposed to be enjoyed??) then discreetly dispose of it?
I really don't get it.

All the people who feel this way, how do you expect your DC or your DH to deal with the foods they don't like? Are they allowed to spit it out into the bin? Or is this just guest rules?

Not liking a biscuit isn't the same as a whim. And the parallel with saying thanks for a present you don't like is saying something like "thanks for the biscuit, but I'm afraid I really don't like it. Shall I put it in the bin?" (Possibly with a bit more euphemism if the biscuit was homemade.)

The greater rudeness would be the host's if she put obligations on her guests to undergo displeasure from what was provided for the sake of pleasure.

I would never allow my DC to spit any food out. Ever.

What an odd question.

The biscuit was not forced upon him - he asked to have one. He was given one.

FFS

You were brought up in Victorian Times? Really?

What would you have said if it had been an adult that had only eaten half the biscuit OP?

Victorian times!

At least he didn't shove it down the back of the sofa

Why is it an odd question to ask if your DC are allowed to spit food into the bin that they don't like?

I am having trouble understanding how anyone would rather see a child swallowing food they don't want to swallow rather than spit it out.

I can't imagine making my DC swallow anything they'd rather spit out. DS would probably feel like vomiting if I told him he could not spit out peas, for example, but then I wouldn't put peas on his plate.

Childrens taste changes wrt food regularly. Something they may have eaten yesterday, they may find unpalatable today.

Why the big issue?

I really hate anything with an almond taste (though I can eat almonds themselves.) So marzipan is out, as are Amaretto biscuits.

I'm sorry, OP, but if don't like them, they really do taste too disgusting to eat.

I hate it when children have a bite out of everything and there's a hell of a lot of waste (thinking of birthday parties here where some children will take a bite out of several identical cakes) but in this instance, you can't blame him for not being able to finish it.

Am also interested to know whether the rules are the same for adults OP?

Does your DH have to 'clear his plate' at your say so too?

I would have hoovered down an Amaretti biscuit, now or as a child...

But if it were peanut, you could have either accepted me spitting it out and putting it in the bin, or you would have had a rather sicky carpet. I'm not allergic, I just really can't eat peanuts (or butter actually).

This is where owning a dog come in handy...

Good grief