Eat everything on your plate! （What are your thoughts?)
Yesterday, Hubby and I had a fight. And it seems to be partly based on cultural differences. So, I thought it might be interesting to see what you thought.
In Japan, eating everything on your plate is something children are taught from an early age. The reason for this is to show thanks to the person who made the food, to show thanks for the fact that you have enough food to eat, and to show respect for all the people who have worked hard to get the food on the table (from the farmer to the working parents). It is a very nice idea and I have nothing against it.
Growing up, my parents did not force me to eat all of the carbs or meats, but I do remember being forced to eat my salad. This has more to do with getting sufficient nutrition than showing thanks. However, I always knew of this Japanese tradition - maybe my parents taught me to eat everything when we were out, although I don't remember - and have always eaten the last little rice grain from my bowl IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. But I realized recently that eating everything on your plate is a very bad habit from the body's point of view. In Japan it is not as bad because the portions are smaller and manageable (at least traditionally speaking), but in the States or Canada? You have to have the strength to leave stuff or you just gain a ton of weight. The fast food here is the same. A Large french fries with every hamburger set - I never force the kids to eat these.
With the kids, we have basically told them no dessert unless they finish supper and while they were young, we have tried to keep the sweets away during the day as much as possible so they'd be hungry for supper. If they ask me for a snack before dinner, I might give them an apple, or carrot sticks or raisins etc. Something without much calories to tie them over. So that they could finish their meal.
As the kids grew older, they started saving up money from various jobs and buying their own snacks. So it became more difficult to control how much they ate before dinner. Julian has, on several occasions, bought snack or drink on the way home from Karate (after 8pm) and hubby has suspected that this has made him unable to eat dinner when he got back. Yesterday, Julian left a bit of rice in his bowl. Finding this, hubby told him to eat it. I can't explain, but the way he said it was quite scary. And maybe from my upbringing and from the fact that Julian was well-built, and the thought that I had given him too much to begin with, I told Hubby/Julian that he did not have to eat it. Hubby said that it was a waste of food - so I said I would eat it. On no uncertain terms did Julian have to eat that rice.
Well hubby was convinced that I was going against the whole Japanese culture here and it did not turn out well.
I told him today, that if he had said it nicely I may have stood aside and made Julian eat it, since it was only a mouthful, but it was my fault for giving him too much in the first place and he should not have gotten so angry like that. I was seriously worried at his mood - my father had a series of strokes and he used to get upset very suddenly like that.
What do you think of eating everything on your plate? Were you taught that when you were a child? What were the reasons? Do you agree with what you were taught?
In Japan, eating everything on your plate is something children are taught from an early age. The reason for this is to show thanks to the person who made the food, to show thanks for the fact that you have enough food to eat, and to show respect for all the people who have worked hard to get the food on the table (from the farmer to the working parents). It is a very nice idea and I have nothing against it.
Growing up, my parents did not force me to eat all of the carbs or meats, but I do remember being forced to eat my salad. This has more to do with getting sufficient nutrition than showing thanks. However, I always knew of this Japanese tradition - maybe my parents taught me to eat everything when we were out, although I don't remember - and have always eaten the last little rice grain from my bowl IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. But I realized recently that eating everything on your plate is a very bad habit from the body's point of view. In Japan it is not as bad because the portions are smaller and manageable (at least traditionally speaking), but in the States or Canada? You have to have the strength to leave stuff or you just gain a ton of weight. The fast food here is the same. A Large french fries with every hamburger set - I never force the kids to eat these.
With the kids, we have basically told them no dessert unless they finish supper and while they were young, we have tried to keep the sweets away during the day as much as possible so they'd be hungry for supper. If they ask me for a snack before dinner, I might give them an apple, or carrot sticks or raisins etc. Something without much calories to tie them over. So that they could finish their meal.
As the kids grew older, they started saving up money from various jobs and buying their own snacks. So it became more difficult to control how much they ate before dinner. Julian has, on several occasions, bought snack or drink on the way home from Karate (after 8pm) and hubby has suspected that this has made him unable to eat dinner when he got back. Yesterday, Julian left a bit of rice in his bowl. Finding this, hubby told him to eat it. I can't explain, but the way he said it was quite scary. And maybe from my upbringing and from the fact that Julian was well-built, and the thought that I had given him too much to begin with, I told Hubby/Julian that he did not have to eat it. Hubby said that it was a waste of food - so I said I would eat it. On no uncertain terms did Julian have to eat that rice.
Well hubby was convinced that I was going against the whole Japanese culture here and it did not turn out well.
I told him today, that if he had said it nicely I may have stood aside and made Julian eat it, since it was only a mouthful, but it was my fault for giving him too much in the first place and he should not have gotten so angry like that. I was seriously worried at his mood - my father had a series of strokes and he used to get upset very suddenly like that.
What do you think of eating everything on your plate? Were you taught that when you were a child? What were the reasons? Do you agree with what you were taught?