Kids no longer taught to clean their plates?

[user1489670695]

It's March break, and I've had a couple of my kids' friends over on and off for meals. (ages 11 and 14)

I've noticed they all seem to serve themselves larger portions than they can actually eat (none of that "plating" nonsense in my house!!), so there's a lot of waste food on their plates. I'd noticed that before too, whenever we had kid guests. Lots of uneaten food on their plates. It doubly annoys me as money is tight, I'm a single mom, shopping for and carrying groceries is hard work, etc etc.

There's not much I guess I can do about it (I compost, so that's a bit better than just trashing it)- but just wanted to rant, and ask if you teach your kids to not waste food?

I was raised up to be very conscientious about wasting food and I always nag at my own kids about serving themselves as much as they can eat and eating it all up. I would have thought, in this day and age, with all the stuff about environment and waste and so on, kids would have been taught to be even more careful with wasting food. But apparently not.

I definitely don't think YABU!! I grew up in the seventies and I was served my meals on plates and I was expected to eat it. I wasn't force fed. I wouldn't force anyone to eat something they didn't want but I do believe that far too much food is wasted by people. Before cooking for your family (and their friends) try to find out just how hungry they are and then you can gauge how much to cook. Putting the food on plates and serving them, is a better way than making a huge mountain of food and letting them help themselves because you should get less wastage. The thing I think of is how many starving people there are in this world and that alone, makes me want to eat all the food that's cooked for me or by me. It makes my blood boil when I see adults and children leaving virtually full plates of food when people all over the world are struggling to feed their families!