AIBU to stop my children wasting food at the holiday buffet?

[constantnc]

To not let my kids waste holiday AI food?

At home our food waste is minimal, I serve a portion onto plates and seconds is always available.

For the first time on holiday I have let my kids ages 9+ go around the buffet and serve themselves.

I am not happy with the waste, ie the 1 bite and I dont like it, and lots of what they will like then full up.

Unsure whether to reduce independence and serve what they will like and eat, or let them get on with it. Most families seem to have no problem piling the plates and leaving half of it.

(We use AI so i get respite from cooking cleaning so dont want to swap from AI).

My husband is the same, he struggled with the dc not eating or leaving food, in the end he just ignored it let them leave what they didn't want, I am not a you have to finish your plate person, anyway I do think you have to try and relax about it,

For all those saying you are on holiday, relax. Well habits are easily formed and this kind of thing is quite common on posts on here about childrens eating at home. Maybe if you practiced consistent parenting the children wont get so confused.

Yes you are on holiday and embrace all the new foods available. Taking one bite out of something and leaving half a dozen more on your plate is pure waste.

Although having read back and seen the childrens plates, i dont think they were particularly wasteful tbh. There are extremes to everything and this doesnt look that bad.

We never go AI and there's no cooking and cleaning on holiday, I don't understand what people mean when they say this.

Hotel B&B (although the breakfast is likely to be still a buffet so would still be food waste issues for the OP, although I like the idea of the family tasting plate - go around together to get some bits to try and then they can go back and get a bit more of what they did like) and eat out later in the day. Most people wouldn't want much more than a hotel buffet breakfast and a full meal out,
each day, but there could also be ice creams, odd slice of pizza, drinks and snacks from the local shop.

Room is cleaned by hotel staff just like if you went AI. Likely better food and a nicer experience than a three times a day AI buffet (or less expensive than a la carte AI).

My DC seem to have done fine with being taught about situational context. I think its good for DC to understand "theres a time and a place". They rarely wasted food at home, were allowed to go a bit carefree on holiday for 2 weeks, then easily back into try not to waste anything mode.

A week/2 weeks once or twice a year is very unlikely to create a habit.

I agree with you OP. I hate food waste. I’ve never been on an AI holiday but we’ve been to lots of Premier Inns with buffet breakfasts, and I always insisted my kids didn’t take more than they could eat.

This.

Buffets are always a big waste of food because everyone is going for variety and therefore taking more than they need.

As for your children, I'd maybe supervise as they select but also....Lighten up! My god, you are on holiday and this is how you are spending your energy?

In general, if you are this focused on food, you run the risk of your children developing issues when they are older. I completely understand not liking waste, but for the sake of your long-term relationship with your kids, you need to seriously relax.

Of course YANBU. They can try things but be mindful of waste.

So food waste is acceptable?

There’s food waste and then there’s food waste. Piled up plate and leaving half or more? Food waste. 12 pieces of pasta and 12 pieces of chips and leaving half? Not waste or an unreasonable assumption that you might possibly eat it all.

I would supervise at dish up...and maybe introduce a fun game or competition on who wins first the least amount left on the plate and maybe a win for whoever tries a new dish

I don't think anyone is saying its "acceptable", just that it's a bit excessive to be thinking of hovering over a child at a holiday buffet presumably to say no, you've already got 5 chips, 4 spirals of pasta, an orange, and a grating of carrot on your plate, eat all of that first before putting another 5 chips on there.

Not sure making DC meal times into a competition is ever a good idea 🙈

if you feel strongly about it then don't support activities that are based on it, eg AI holidays

No, it's an excellent rule. We're in France, where restaurants and schools get fined for food waste, and it's the law that consumers are able to ask for a doggy bag. Restaurants give away food at the end of service to the homeless or similar organisations, or risk being fined.

me either!

I think you’re teaching them a very valuable lesson, @constantnc

so you can pile your plate high at a buffet restarant and take enough home to last you eg a week without paying any more money for it?

I meant it was a daft rule as there would appear to be very many easy ways around it.

Particularly if the customer could just ask for a doggy bag for the full plate to avoid the charge, then chuck it in their bin.

Do not use your body as a dustbin to “save waste”. It’s a false economy and really bad for you.

I found helping them was the best strategy, that and let’s try 3 strawberries for now and then we can always come back and get more.

Maybe, but we don't. French people don't think like that (and wouldn't eat leftovers for a week). It just doesn't happen, and children are brought up eating what's on offer. A lot of the food is cooked fresh to order, so plates don't get piled up.

There's a mega cool Japanese in Paris that is technically all you can eat, but each person is limited to ordering 3 dishes every 15 minutes. We tried and failed to rinse it, but were beaten.

if "French people don't think like that" why is any law or fines needed?

Didn't seem it was the latter from OP's post. A few morsels is different than half a plate, whether holiday or not.

When did I say I support it? I was just commenting on someone who said, relax it's a holiday. Whatever the situation/location may be, food waste is not acceptable. And training/teaching children from a young age is important- which is what the OP's post was about. And frankly, whether I support it or not doesn't matter. It's each individual's responsibility to do as much as they can to reduce food waste.