I’ll be honest, sometimes I don’t cope well with criticism at the dinner table.
Criticism of what’s been prepared that is.
It often seems that mealtimes are either triumphant successes or abject failures.
If I’m having a particularly bad day, just one “Yuck” can make me feel like the past 20, 30, 60 minutes of food prep has been a complete and utter waste of time. Worse still, I might cease to enjoy MY meal and then the wonderful conversations that come with eating together as a family just don’t happen.
Here are some mealtime rules to quell the food critics lurking around your dinner table:
- We don’t say Yuck
- We do say Yes Please and No Thank you
- Meals will always include at least one or two foods that you generally enjoy
- Everyone gets to have their favourite meal sometimes. It might be your turn tomorrow.
Having clear rules are good for the cook and also for encouraging politeness, manners and turn-taking.
3 quick replies to “Yuck, I don’t like that!”
- “Remember, we don’t say Yuck, but it is OK to say no thank you, I don’t want to eat that today.”
- “That’s OK, our taste buds are always changing their mind. You might like it next time” and if it really was a true cooking disaster…
- “Yes, that wasn’t my greatest dish. I think next time I’ll try X, Y, or Z to see if that works better. Perhaps you could help me.”
- “Don’t be rude to food!” (thanks to Kate Wengier, my Dietitian colleague from Foost for that one)
- “Don’t Yuck my Yum!”
Lose the guilt, ditch the battles and eat happy!
Having food battles? Attend a Kids Dig Food parent workshop to find out more about how kids approach food and what you can do to support their journey.
Eat happy!
Deb Blakley
Accredited Practising Dietitian & Director
Post edited 22 June 2020
