What is all this bonkers talk on MN of people taking food with them to eat at relatives' houses...

[moondog]

..because their precious off spring won't eat what is served??

Unbelievably ill mannered and more to the point, when did it all start ?
In our day you either ate what was put in front of you or discreetly left it.
No whingeing or demands for pizzas or chicken nuggets or bloody Pizza Express dough balls.
No wonder your relatives get the hump.

I bring a stash of breakfast bars and snacks to the inlaws, and I don't even have DC. I'm not fussy, I eat what I'm offered with the single exception of pork, and politely eat what MIL serves up, but she doesn't cook enough. She eats like a mouse and doesn't deliberately starve everyone else but just hasn't realised that some of us might like more than three cherry tomatoes and half a potato with their dinner. There'd be wailing and crying and screaming if anyone brought it up (long story) so a stash of edibles in my suitcase just makes everyone's life easier.

We are vegetarian, and DD won't eat cheese; parents in law are traditional meat and two veg types, who have ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch every day so yes, I take food or do a shop there when we go to stay. Much easier and less stressful all round.

To be honest I am very glad that being vegetarian gives me a polite excuse, because MiL is the kind of cook who makes three carrots stretch to six people, and serves small portions of main courses to 'leave room for pudding', which is usually something made with vile artificial cream (which neither I nor my DCs will eat - so shoot me). Her idea of vegetable soup is leftover overlooked vegetables boiled up for another half hour or so and then blended, probably with some more of the artificial cream to make it 'special'.

Yes, I would eat all that sort of thing to be polite (and have done in the past) but do you blame me for taking supplies?

We buy yogurt and cereal for DC when we visit PILs cause I wouldn't expect them to buy things for the kids. Not cause they don't eat what PILs serve, but then they cook plain good food that the kids like.

And they ask the DC when they arrive what food they'd like to have that week and make all their favourites.

If I was visiting people who didn't cater for DC, then I'd take our own food.

By 'catering to DC', I mean serving meals that children are less likely to enjoy such as sushi.

It didn't happen when we were young cause people cooked plain good food. This was before we all started cooking poncy stuff from TV chefs.

The most exotic my mum ever served was boef bourgenion, which was basically just stew.

I agree with you - I find it amazing how many children don't seem to be willing to eat real food.

As in meat, vegetables, pasta, potatoes etc.

When mine were small and we went out they always ate what we ate. If it was a very strongly flavoured curry, for instance, I would scrape off the sauce, or as a last measure feed them the rice/potatoes/pasta only.

But I would never have offered them an alternative.

However, I think there is a difference from taking children out for one meal, and going to stay with someone for a week. If it is a meal, they can survive. If it is a week of curries/sushi/raw turnip and lentils then I too would take some snacks

Dh and I often take snacks to pil as they eat such tiny amounts we are often starving.
I have been known to take some wine too as you are lucky to get one glass in their thimble sized glasses and I'm not spending all weekend teetotal when we visit. It's so boring we need a drink.
Mil buys dh's fav childish cereal when we go but it's for him and not the dc [hmm{

I'd happily take a week of curries, sushi & lentils; not sure about raw turnip - maybe grated in salad? - but can't take a week of processed, overcooked, cheese-coated everything and no fresh fruit & veg. DCs are the same (oh, except DD would reject curry, but loves sushi).

moondog and Mary if granny doesn't serve ordinary food like rice pasta or potatoes, but always offers very strong rich food (think M&S readymeal style), bread always has seeds in it, salad is always mayo heavy etc etc. If my mum cooked ordinary food like lasagne or plain pasta or mashed potatoes, plain rice it would be fine,but her food is always something in wine or cream sauce. She basically thinks children eat v cheap fatty sausages, chips or pizza and will offer that as an alternative to the fancy adult food (risotto with mushrooms/pasta with walnuts and cream being a good example of things your average child doesn't usually like). If you are staying with her for a week or two, the only answer is to do the cooking and shopping which is what I do. It's fine but it is frustrating that every meal is inappropriate. Okay she does very nice cheesy potatoes in cream..

It's odd because we always had lovely honest food when we were children. I think M&S and foreign travel has warped her.

we take yoghurts and actimel type drinks for the dc. just plain stuff as my relatives like stuff like yoghurt with molasses or poppy seeds.
oh and tea bags. my parents are in germany and they don't have decent tea, just drink masses of filter coffee

Hmmmm you have never met mil - queen of the leftovers. Sausages on their fifth but not final re-heat. Home-made lemonade with the corpses of about a thousand fruit flies floating in it. Served on plates with ingrained bits of food already on it.
Adults can just about cope (we just secretly chuck away all the dodgy food). Kids definitely need an alternative

Hmmmm you have never met mil - queen of the leftovers. Sausages on their fifth but not final re-heat. Home-made lemonade with the corpses of about a thousand fruit flies floating in it. Served on plates with ingrained bits of food already on it.
Adults can just about cope (we just secretly chuck away all the dodgy food). Kids definitely need an alternative

'bread always has seeds in it, salad is always mayo heavy etc etc'

Oh fgs, just bloody accept what you are given.
You sound as if your children are expected to eat camel entrails washed down with goats' blood.

you can go round my friends then moondog. Total non cook. One year it was cold brussel sprout soup that the sprouts werent cooked properly. I was brought up to eat what I was given but that was a sprout too far!

Well its saves you wasting food i suppose, if people bring things they actually like and not only that, atleast it is a contribution!

What i do hate however is people that decend upon us and not bring a bean, don't help with washing up, drying or even clearing their plates-that is rude!

I did this. My children are fussy eaters and when at home I alternate between favourites and unfamiliar, so that it's not a battle every mealtime. If I hadn't taken meals for my children they would have been hungry two hours before my mother served up and then not eaten anything on the plate while my mother wound me up by aggressively trying to get them to eat and tutting and sighing when they didn't. Instead we had a shot at a stressfree christmas, and we almost made it, but that's a different thread.

moondog I do accept what I'm given. I eat it. But if it is a dish that your child just doesn't eat, and day after day (I'm talking family visits which last weeks rather than days) they are being given disgusting high salt findus lasagne as an alternative and bright pink sausages, I think you might decide to "source" your own children's meals, or at very least rustle up a dish of exceedingly plain pasta to accompany said findus lasagne. I am talking about children under 7 here.

When you go along to a family feast, there should be something that the children can actually eat. You may have a functional family where the grownups cook delicious food, but some of us don't!!!!

Saying that, I am now beginning to remember how peeved I got when I had guests and they brought their children's favoruite foods with them. This is when I had children the same age. ie: guests who bring their children's favourite cereal, guests who "cook" when you have already prepared something for all. In my case I remember making a lovely roast dinner for some houseguests, and the wretched guest had the nerve to make a separate dish of pasta with homemade meatballs for her children because that was what they were used to...And she brought all the ingredients! How dared she! I never invited her again. and her kids are all pretty anorexic now

Hmm, I am beginning to see where you are coming from

I'm so glad.
The quality of the food is irrelevant.
I would expect my children to sit politely and accept any old crap that has been dished up because we would be in someone else's house being entertained by them.

And believe me, I have consumed many a terrible mean through gritted teeth and a rictus grin.
My aunt's appalling prawn cocktail comes to mind.

if it is just for a meal or two yanbu.
usually there is something anyone would eat.
but if staying with relatives with questionable food hygiene and strange tastes I do bring some snacks and breakfast stuff.

I do not eat beetroot, baked beans or cold boiled eggs with salad cream on top after too many childhood meals of "salad" at granny's and at friends houses.

But by God, I forced them down at the time. I wouldn't have dared refuse.

And I suppose it did me no harm [boak]

I wonder why people think children only eat 'plain food'. Did children in India, Thailand etc. not get the memo?

And since when did crisps become a legitimate meal accompaniment instead of an occasional snack?

The worst meal I had as a chikd was a cheese fondue, where the host kept licking the spoon to taste and putting it back in the pot. A bit yuck, but I ate it with no side effects, so he must have had no major communicable diseases

I always have snacks for 4yo DD, but I would not take food. It is difficult though, she went to a birthday party where hotdogs were all that was on offer for tea and she hates sausages, so asked for a cheese sandwich! The hostess did not mind luckily.

I would not expect anybody to cook anything different for DD though. When we go to my mums, she eats the bits that she likes and thats it.

I'm a mean mummy. I have taken after my mum in how to bring up my DS. If he doesn't eat what's put in front of him, it's tough. He's two, and has eaten the same kind of foods as us since he was 10mo (obviously within reason!). I don't want him to have any food issues, so I don't make a fuss if he doesn't eat something. I just ask him if he's all done and if he says yes I take it away. There's been nights where all he has wanted to eat is a slice of bread, strange child!

DD has ASD, but in our case, we bring food to my parent's holiday house for NY as my mum tends to buy things DD may not eat, but also that she won't even start cooking until after 7pm, and we end up eating after 9. So we HAVE to feed DD before then (or she gets too tired to eat - and she already has issues about being underweight).

We bought fish fillets in batter and made those with mashed potato and frozen veg (both in the house) this time, whereas other times we've not been as prepared and ended up buying a tin of spaghetti hoops and microwaving those for her.

We usually bring some fruit as well, to snack on, again for long distances between meals. But we are happy for anyone in the house to use these things too. (and we also bring nice things for sharing like a ball of edam or extra wine or my own sloe gin).

I'm like cordelia. My DS (shock horror) eats bread with seeds in it and everything. He has always eaten the same as us. Children don't need to have bland food!