I don't quite believe that. For a country facing epidemic obesity, its hard to believe people are fussy eaters.

When you tell a kid to clean their plate, just what are you doing? You give them the food yourself(which keep in mind would be an ADULT portion for a CHILD). You tell them to "clean their plate", even when they tell you that they're full and that they're stomach hurts. Eventually, these kids start overeating whether they realize it or not, and they become overweight. I've heard of kids who get spanked or punished because they were being forced to eat and refused. My parents used to pull this crap with me, and now, I'm an incredibly picky eater. If someone gives me food I don't want, I'll put it back. If someone dishes it for me, and I don't want it, I won't eat it. It should be considered child abuse to force your child to eat past the point of their own limits. You'll make them sick.

Ya know - I was a picky eater as a child and expanded what I ate when I got older.

I have raised two children and Both have totally different ways of eating. The oldest is severely picky and the 2nd born eats almost anything he want. BUT there are lots of picky people/eaters in our family. Let's take Gramma L. she was extremely picky and lived into her 80's - so my question is WHAT'S your point?

I required my children to NOT eat chocolate for a year or two and NO SUGAR - oh the horror of it ...

I required that they ate whatever was set before them - BUT they didn't have to clean their plate as I thot that was crap to MAKE a child do.

So let's review - the 1st born had a totally different palate than the 2nd born. The 1st born eats hardly anything good for it - and the 2nd born eats just about the largest variety of food I've ever seen.

FUNNY huh?

Of course most kids are fussy eaters. All of our food nowadays is high fructose corn syrup so if that isn't an ingredient the kids don't want to eat it.

I don't have any kids but I do have a niece. She is a very finicky eater, but then again Mom spoils her by letting her eat whatever she wants. Maybe I shouldn't say this (after all I'm not a parent)... but hey, if I had a child I would make every effort to get them to enjoy eating as many healthy foods as I could. It might take some extra time, a little more planning, etc. - but I think having healthy kids (who usually grow up to adopt healthy eating habits as adults) would be worth the extra effort.

My children are BOTH opposite eaters - I am a picky eater and was not quite as bad as my sister who traditionally had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when she didn't like what was cooked.

My 1st born is extremely picky ... my 2nd born is NOT.

I raised them the same -

I have a grandma who lived till her mid 80's and it didn't seem to bother her at all nor shorten her life.

I never required my children to clean their plates.

I even restricted their diet from chocolate and sugar for a couple years.

They are of average weight now in their 30's.

Quite amazing huh?

Taadams, You are very fortunate that your children turned out the way they did. Believe me, it was not your methods alone that did that. We had the same rules at my house. I have 5 children, all grown now. Two boys are fussy eaters - one VERY fussy, the other not so much; and the two girls both struggle with weight issues. Not totally sure where things were different, but their responses certainly were different! Maybe personality has something to do with it? The fussiest eater is also the most stubborn in other areas....

My grandson, age 2 1/2, refuses to eat in general. He likes juice and fruit snacks, and once in a while chicken nuggets. And peanut butter toast. But he would just as soon not eat at all. Anyone have any suggestions?

This "study" is ridiculous. I'm sure most parents have their dinner tactics set up based on how their children eat, as well as their age. My husband's family was big on cleaning your plate, and I don't believe in that so I've had to tame his rules for dinner time, but we do expect a certain amount to be eaten, we don't give our kids the same portion size as us, and we don't expect them to finish it all, but if they do, we applaud it, we do, however, expect them to eat a little of everything. At least for the oldest boy. He was a picky eater. When he was 2 all he would eat were PB&J sandwiches and cereal. Just so he would eat SOMETHING, I made a lot of sandwiches for lunch and dinner for him. Now he'll try anything and likes a variety of foods. He is 7 and loves spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower. Honestly, I'm a really picky eater, but only because I have food and texture aversions, but I don't let that affect what my kids eat. Our 2 1/2 year old eats almost nothing. She could live off crackers, fruit snacks, and capri sun. the only time she really eats is if it's a hamburger or pizza. We don't eat that a lot, but we know it's a surefire way to get her to eat. Our rules with her are we offer her the same dinner we eat, and expect her to eat the mashed potatoes, or whatever starch is being served and absolutely nothing else. there is no forcing her to eat what she doesn't want to eat, and that is okay, she is young, things will change and we will convince her to eat vegetables and meats later; it's certainly nothing we didn't go through with her big brother! Our baby eats anything, she loves all food, any food, and we are hoping that continues. Neither of our other kids ever ate like she does at that age.

All kids are different, and just like with reward systems and discipline, a good parent molds their parenting around their child's personality. Same goes for food.

I definitely agree with not forcing your kids to clean their plate! My grandfather used to give me adult sized portions of food and forbade me from leaving the table before I had finished eating... period! And these were huge portions for an adult too. My grandfather is a big man who can still eat big meals. Dinnertime was hell when I was a child because I could NEVER finish all that food at once. He once upset me so bad yelling at me for not finishing my dinner that I actually threw up. He thought I did it on purpose and told me that if I ever did it again he would make me lick it up. I believed him.

When my mother remarried my father he wasn't much better but at least I got smaller portions instead of having to eat these huge ones. one of his favorite meals to cook was also one of my least favorites to eat and that was a struggle too. I just detested the taste and to this day there are certain foods who's taste makes me feel physically ill. (canned beats and olives are among them and I can't really tolerate the taste of stir fry, at least not the way I've had it cooked.)

I'm fortunately not a terribly picky eater now but I refuse to eat to the point of bursting and I won't 'clean my plate' if it means hurting my stomach. That includes Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I also will not eat foods that I do not like. I will however try new foods that I've never had before. If I don't like it I simply don't have to have it again.