It is utterly banned in our house.
If someone else starts to utter it then I have to stop them in their tracks.
We do not say "Fussy eater", for us it's not a thing.
My wife and I were talking about it just the other day and then she saw this clip of Gino D'acampo talking about the same thing and sent it to me.
My day is pretty much full of children telling me "I'm hungry" or "When can we eat?" "I want a snack", and to be honest I do give in and they have plenty of snack through the day, my children tend to be happier when they graze.
But I'm a lot harder when it comes to meal times.
Don't like what's on your plate?
Don't eat it then.
If they miss a meal then it won't kill them.
I will not cook something specially for my children. We all eat together each and every day and we all eat the same food, even my little boy who's 16 months old eats exactly what we have (I might cut up his meat for him though). I put a lot of time and effort into growing, preparing and cooking what we eat, but it's not a restaurant and they don't get to choose what they have.
We don't ever call it being fussy or attach a label to it, we think that in doing so you give them justification.
Now that's not saying we don't have our fair share of arguments or that they eat everything at every meal time. My younger daughter does sometimes put up a fight and objects but she'll normally eat something off her plate as she knows that she'll go without otherwise. My eldest daughter is no trouble and will eat almost as much as my wife and my son isn't far behind in all honesty.
But these are the rules in our house.
Don't like something, then leave it on the side of your plate, I'm not going to sit and pick out mushrooms or onions because they decided they don't like them that night.
If they want a drink with their meal they have to ask before I've sat down, otherwise they wait until the end.
No one starts pudding until everyone has finished their main course.
No one leaves the table until everyone has finished and then you have to ask.
My dad was (is) obsessed with table manners when I was growing up and I fear it may have rubbed off on me. I hate when children run off and start playing when they've eaten what they like. Meal times should be a time for conversation and to see what everyone has been doing during the day, that and eating some good home cooked food!
How are things done in your house?
Do you (or did you) cook separately for your children?
Are table manners important to you?
