For not sharing my food or giving my kid at 7 year old a taste of my food at restaurant?

[melindarra]

To say it clearly i let her choose from the menu what she wants. My kid is a very hungry kid😆 and eats faster than me and i need to sometimes buy her adult menu bcs kid menus here are literally portions for a tiny mouse😆 but me my self i dont like the tough Of others spit in my food or fork and yea.. including my own kid, pluss i think its nice to learn her that not everyone wants to share their food and that u should eat from your own plate because if she likes it then she wants another bite and start looking at your plate like she hasn’t been feed even if she has food on her plate, because its not nice to ask for someone else's plate. Especially since i let her choose whatever she wants from menu’s besides from very expensive dishes 😆

I share with my children because I really like them. Same as my mum would always share with me... part of being a mum in my mind!

While I appreciate the logic behind teaching her that it isn't polite to take things from others plates and that people don't always want to share, I also think it's important to introduce a variety of food to children at a young age, 7 years old a palette is still developing and the chance to try new things is very important.

I won't sip from a can that even my own family have drank from, so I get that, but why not just place a few portions onto her plate if she wants to try something?

I think YABU, but with the caveat that I understand your reasoning.

Does that mean dads don't like their children?

a bit yeah. We do share food as a family - bit like jack sprat and his mrs. I will take the veg people dont want and swap for fries or something else. We all try each others food because our kids started to get very picky about age 5/6, so we moved to a model of as long as you try things 10 times before you decide thats ok. And the swaps then came from that.

BUT I do agree about the spit etc...so we dont share utensils, straws etc. We just put it on their plate etc.

You’re being very weird about your own child asking to taste some of your food!

Genuinely - I’ve never heard a parent refuse to give their 7 year old a ‘bit of their chicken curry’ (or whatever!) to try out!

Seek help OP!

7yrs old is a great age to share food and let her try some of yours. It's the age where any food aversions or fussiness (even if small) begin to drop off and sets a pattern of wide and varied food choices for life.

I would find a way to share with her if she's asking.

Thank u for ur kind words and understanding for some of ya :) shes far from picky when it comes to food bcs she always try new food most of the time.

and for u rude as people who make it seem i starve my kid and my grammar for not being my first language 😆 go touch some grass and get a life seriously. Shaming parents for not being perfect parents as you dosn’t make u perfect either. My 7 year old is spoiled with love with every other things

This is odd… first thing I do when we’re at a restaurant is tell the girls to try my food, and then by extension they share there’s with us. It’s how they learn…

I'm guessing from the use of abbreviations that OP is American?

I think it's fine to let a child have a taste of something that is new to them, I wouldn't want a child to order something like shellfish if they've never had it before because they might hate it. On the other they shouldn't expect to eat mum's chips after polishing off her own.

If she does wants a taste or try of a new food that you have on your plate it's one thing, but if she wants to eat your meal because she's finished her own that's quite worrying. Even at only 7 it's ok to say you can have a little taste but you're not having more than that because you've had enough, especially if she's had an adult portion! A 7 year old doesn't need an adult portion.

I think that there is no harm in teaching her not to take food off other people's plate but I do think the kind thing to do is cut a bit of your/give her a spoonful etc that you place on her plate.

I do think you need to encourage her to slow down eating. It takes a while for the brain to register that you are full.

Rationing punctuation, as well as food.

This. Can’t imagine thinking like this let alone posting about my child.

My parents always gave me a piece/forkful of something I never had before.

Because of this, I can count the number of things I don’t like on my fingers.

Parents that presume that their DC hates food even though not tried it or refuse them to try new foods are creating fussy eaters in their DC

@ExtraOnions

how on earth is OP rationing food? Do you think she should let her child eat her own meal then eat all of her mother’s food if she likes it? That doesn’t sound very healthy!

This is the most reasonable response I’ve read so far.

Really?

it sounds like another version of you can’t have your pudding until you’ve eaten your dinner. That and I hate the “clean plate” thing as it encourages children to override their full signals and eat past satiety.

much more reasonable imo to let them have a small bite first to taste then get on with their own meals. Then they can stop when they’re full and not have to clean their plate to try something they want.

although I think if I had a child that always wanted to eat my food I’d be taking them to places where sharing was the norm- tapas, Chinese, Indian, sharing platters in pubs. Most places will do sharing starters. I can’t think of the last time dh and I went out to eat and didn’t get some sort of sharing dish.

So if a child says they are full to leave food, then gets dessert, they will just leave food for a "nicer option". If their meal came with cucumber and I know they don't like cucumber, I certainly would not make my child eat it. But if their meal came with 4 chicken nuggets and they ate 5 at home normally, I will not have them asking others for food off their plates leaving their chicken nuggets when they have what they requested and ordered out of numerous choices. Its just simple table manners.

I didn’t read that as you were talking unkind of your daughter like some have suggested. At 7 years old it’s basic table etiquette not to eat off others plates. I never had mine do that especially at the age of 7. Sounds like she needs to slow down. One of mine was (only one word that can be used) greedy, and there is no need for it xx

My daughter is 18.
l would still let her ‘have a try’ now and always encouraged her to taste mine if it was new.
Consequently she has a vast repertoire of foods she will eat .
You sound like you like food more than your child. Poor girl.

Did you mean to be so nasty?

Of course you did. You think you are superior because you have a higher ability to OP. Have a think about why you felt the need to shame someone on the internet for not being as educated as you. It’s a vile character trait, but you could work on that.

Of course you order a meal for your child. But children tend to choose what they already know. It's good to let them taste different foods, that's how they broaden their palate. What I did with my children and now with my grandchildren : I take a small sample of whatever I am having with their fork, hand them the fork and have them taste it. If they don't like it, theynwill at least have the experience, we will try again next time. If they do like it I will happily share 😊

You sound horrid. You should be applauding her curiosity around food and letting her try yours.

@Imalittleelf , An adult 'nabbing' food off someone else's plate is disgusting. You sound like a pig at a trough.
There was no need for the mean comment about the OP's English.