I learned that you should provide healthy foods, be a good example and promote healthy eating/living. Children should not be forced to eat or have any battle to eat because that can develop eating disorders.
I'm sure there are some extremes of "force" that could develop problems down the road, but modeling good habits only gets you so far. Inevitably -- other than the "perfect people" in the world -- there is bound to be arm-wrestling along the way at the majority of dinner tables.
"Force" sounds a bit harsh. How about "encourage"? We "encourage" our kids' healthy diets, just like we "encourage" limits on screen time, and "encourage" responsible sleeping habits. (Well, OK, we do "force" the brushing of teeth, 'cause the object lesson is too far in the future & too expensive for us in the end.)
My approach of "eat this or eat nothing" seems a little draconian to some, but I'm not forcing them to eat X. I'm simply limiting their available options, and when they are hungry, they will eat. Eventually the kids forget how they once "hated" such & such and now eat their veggies (or fish, or whatever) without raising a stink.
If you don't like what is on the table get a yogurt from the frig.
If we tried that in our house, Yoplait stock would skyrocket.
I know families with kids who eat broccolli and salad and their parents say they must eat these things and they eat better than my kids. I don't even want to make dinner these days. I feel like the above stuff is so good but where are the results???????
With typical exercise, I think many kids could eat rice and chocolate all day every day and still stay slim and appear healthy. I believe that so much of the "goodness" is on the inside as they are growing & developing -- and we really don't see the immediate and direct impact of a poor diet like we often do on our adult waistlines.
