Originally Posted by JonLaw
I try to only eat things that I want to eat.

It's very important to me to have the self-actualization and autonomy to actually make this choice for myself.

I use this approach with my kids. Our rule in the house is that everyone has to try a new food. If someone doesn't like it, he doesn't have to eat more of it. End of story.

We aren't dealing with allergies or other related medical conditions and we are economically not in a position where our choices are severely limited. So we can do this. Our kids like a lot of healthy foods, too: fresh veggies, sushi, salad, etc. Overall, this approach works for us and mealtimes here are rarely times of stress due to fighting about having to eat hated foods.

Instead, there is plenty of time for kids to create other kinds of mealtime stress, such as fighting with each other, acting hyper, and so on. Ahh, family dinner! Such fun.