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The Clean Plate Club
Why Your Family Shouldn't Join
By Kelly Burgess
us. When she suddenly stops caring about what your body wants and tells you she's going to force you to eat this whether you like it or not, it creates an unhealthy relationship with food. It also leads to battles that really don't need to be fought."
My rule is this: If my kids don't like what I've fixed, they're free to make themselves a sandwich (that was my mom's rule too).
Ellyn Satter doesn't like either of those rules at all. The first, she says, actually discourages children from trying new foods. The second she thinks keeps kids from building a comfort level with unfamiliar foods.
Satter should know, as she's probably the leading expert in America on feeding children and families. In addition to directing the Ellyn Satter Institute, she's written several books on the subject of healthful eating habits for children and families. "The idea of making food rules is the belief that children will not try new foods unless you force them to, but that's not correct," says Satter. "Children want to learn to eat new foods just as they want to learn other things, like tying their shoes. They fight back if adults get pushy and try to force them."
According to Satter, it can take up to 20 exposures to a new food before a child learns to like it. In one study she cites, two groups of preschoolers