To collude with DS(6) in the sprout conspiracy?

[mamapetal]

DS(6) had a sprout last week - he was praised & told how proud we were of him and he said it wasn't too bad. Last night we had a roast dinner & I again put a sprout on his plate, & left him to finish his dinner as he is a slow eater. Ten minutes later I noticed that the sprout had disappeared. Filling up again with pride I said to him jokingly (in the belief he had eaten the sprout) I hope you haven't put that sprout in the bin? His bottom lip came out & quivered, and he nodded. I was - I had not thought him capable of such a lie!!

But to make matters worse - when asked by his dad if had eaten the sprout he said yes (with a conspiratorial look at me)!!!-as I did not want to call him a liar in front of his dad I just gave him a disapproving look and said nothing.

How do I handle this? Have I got a terminal liar in the making? Did we over praise him in the first instance so he felt he couldn't let us down?

If he doesn't like sprouts don't give them to him! They aren't essential you know! My ds loves them, dd doesn't. He eats them, she doesn't. Simple.

I would just forget about it - it's not a big deal.

Oh, and I think that it's a good idea to keep emotion out of food as much as possible. Comment as little as possible - no praise no blame. Just serve nice food, if they eat it they eat it, if they don't they don't. They aren't going to starve.

Two of mine don't like sprouts so I don't give them sprouts.

They're not essential.

Awww bless him!!

Sprouts are an aquired taste. DS and me love them, DH and DD hate them.

I remember being extremely the first time my DS told me a fib. Its normal. I'm pretty sure you haven't got a terminal liar lol!

I can't stand sprouts, so couldn't imagine trying to make my DS eat them!

Agree that eating sprouts isn;t a big deal

I don't think that colluding with your child to decieve the other parent is a healthy habit though. Parents should be a united front. I think you should tell your dp, and then he should make a light hearted comment about not wanting all of ds's veg to end up in the bin, just to let ds know that (a) fibbing isn't on, and (b) you and dp don't keep secrets from each other.

I would think that he obviously does not like sprouts - so don't give him them (they're horrible, green bitter squashy things anyway - no-one likes them! - well no-one except my ds and dh anyway).
If he hates them enough to lie about - it's not worth it. Have a quiet chat to him about why he should not tell lies - but also tell him he won't have to eat them again unless he wants to.

Thanks for all the responses - and its no more sprouts for DS. Haggis & Broccoli I will also have a word with him about lying but it has shocked me that he is capable of lying in the first place!

Don't see lying as just negative, he's learning the social nicities. He is being polite (if not quite truthful) about food he's been served. That's a good quality in our society. I might do the same at an adult dinner party.

I love sprout but admittingly , they can taste very bitter sometimes. If you really love to cook them, ask him to try it at different times, if he likes them he will eat them and when they are bitter just let him off the hook. I do not think in this instance your DP's colluding with your child is a big deal, he probably just took pity on the little lad.