A route to food issues or just gentle encouragement?

[nappyaddict]

"You don't have to finish it but one more bite and you can have a pudding"

"Eat 3 of those peas and you can watch Charlie & Lola on TV"

"Just eat a little bit more, then you can get down and play"

I'll be interested to see what others say, generally I hear that you should not involve food in reward or punishment.
I have DD who will rarely try new foods, and I never know if I should say no dinner, no pudding (then she'll go hungry) or let her eat what she wants, or offer an alternative. Its a minefield!!

Personally I don't do any cajoling/bribing/insisting with food. I hate the "just one more bite" thing as often it seems completely arbitrary.

I think children should be encouraged to listen to their tummies - eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full.

what's the background? why does this approach seem necessary? DD (2.8) sometimes gets pudding if she has eaten well, but it's not a given. She never gets pud if she has rejected her dinner (she's a sugar fiend anyway), but will be offered fruit or digestive with her milk later on. The only one of your list I ever use is the last one, and that rarely. I take the view that if she isn't hungry, that's fine, and if she decides that going out in the garden is preferable to dinner, then that's her lookout.

I do similar but my children are looking at the food, don't like the look of it and refuse it. I know it isn't hunger ad they would willingly eat cake all day.

I don't use food though, I have been trying to get them to sit at the table until I have finished as it is dinnertime and they have to be part of that. Also if they don't eat they get nothing till the next meal.
Don't know how well it is going though as only done it for couple of days. Ds1 is 4 and he starting to be quite defiant at mealtimes.