Should a child be forced to try new foods?

I think it is a great idea to encourage your child to take (atleast) one bite of everything on their plate. I don't, however, think it is something to get mad about. Pick your battles!!! Will you look back on this and think... "I wish I would have made Shirly eat all her vegetables when she was 7!!!" no way. Not important. :) Hope I helped.

nope a child shouldn't be forced to try new foods. forcing a child to do that will just encourage them more to rebell & not do what the parents say. the child is still young so she still has time to grow & try new foods at her own pace. her taste might change as she grows up so don't worry about it too much.

Meal time should be enjoyable for all who sit at the table........No I don't think it is good to FORCE a child to taste anything..........I had a run in with some kids about peas......no one wanted to eat thoes things......So I showed them how.......1st graders....You put your peas inside your roll. .take a bite of potatoes then a bite of roll.........It worked.some said I never knew I liked peas.....

My brother and his wife had a good idea with their kids, and it also worked with my daughter. She was told that she had to try something at least once, and if she didn't like it, she didn't have to finish it. She was always willing to try new things because she knew she would not be forced to eat something she didn't like, and guess what? She liked more vegetables than I EVER did growing up when I was forced to. Also, try raw vegetables. I wouldn't touch cooked spinach for a million dollars, but I love it in salad, and it's better for you that way. My daughter would eat almost any raw vegetable dipped in ranch dressing. She would be with me in the store, see something new in the produce section, and ask me to buy it so she could try it. So no, I don't think anyone should be forced to eat something they don't like. If you're concerned about vitamins, there is no one food item that has any vitamin that cannot be found in a different food, meaning that if the kid doesn't like spinach, they can get their vitamin A from carrots. Dad needs to be brought under control, he is a major control freak, and is bordering on abuse.

It seems to me that the child did taste it again. I agree that a child should taste a small bit of a food. I even agree that they should try it more than one time...but not until it's been a while, say a year or so, or if the food has been prepared a different way. Our tastes change as we age, but it does not happen overnight. I understand Dad's point. Example: my adult nieces eat about 10 items and that's it and NEVER try anything because their mom never taught them that they should. However, his method is WAY off base. The more he acts angry when said child doesn't like something, the more afraid child will be to try something new. It seems Mom's gentle encouragement went much further and Dad should learn from this. Good luck!

this is wat my dad did when i was little. so i tried everything and imean everything. His motto was try it and if you don't like it you don't have to ever have it again, sometimes youll be surprised. As long as the kids eating a nutricous meal i think everythings ok but never force a kid to eat something they hate after trying it.

We have a game in our house called, "Adventure Award." It was devised because our kids were very picky eaters and turned their noses up to pretty much anything other than PB&J and chicken fingers. (The rule is that they try everything on the plate without drama -- a small bite suffices. If they do this for a week, then they are awarded for their adventurousness with a small dessert.) Dad definitely over reacted. It only adds to the child's stress of trying new things. Make tasting new food fun and your child will be more willing to try it rather than by force/bullying/guilt. I'm sure it'll help their digestion, too!

Forced is not the way to go. As an option, yes. A child needs to try foods many times before she decides if she likes it or not - once or twice isn't enough. Dad is right though, in that the child needs to be exposed to new foods, it's just that his method is terribly wrong. For example, my son doesn't like cooked cauliflower, but happily eats it raw, even without dip. He loves asparagus, eggplant, salads, cabbage, sauerkraut, -- and things like chicken livers....

What is wrong with Dad? Sounds like he has some major control issues. So what if the child only eates a small list of foods. Forcing the child to try new foods is not going to encourage her to eat them. He is setting that poor child up for an eating disorder and I wonder about his general parenting ability. He must stop this behavior before he does real damage to his child. She is eating enough veggies to keep her healthy so what is his problem? He has issues that go beyond getting her to try new foods, he needs to get that temper under control.