The thing I *actually* hate most is when adults think it's okay to regularly make kids eat entire meals of foods they strongly dislike, or leave them hungry

If someone tried to do this to me as a grown woman, I'd tell them to take a hike. https://twitter.com/JillFilipovic/status/1309349157937852417

Some kids are just going to go through a stage where they prefer plainer things

I did baby-led weaning with both my kids, and they ate all sorts of great adult food from the get-go. Yet Stitch is WAY pickier now than she was as a toddler, while Sunny will eat ANYTHING

So the rule with Stitch is just, you try one bite of what everyone else is having, and if you don't like it you can have a bowl of oatmeal and some fruit

Saves time, saves pointless fighting, and she's not eternally hangry

Just

Extend the same respect to kids you extend to adults

If I make food for a grown person, I *ask* about their preferences beforehand

You can't always take a picky kid's preferences into consideration, but don't try to strong arm them into eating what they don't like

And honestly, getting a kid to try one small bite of a family staple each time you make it is a MUCH better way of teaching them to acquire a taste for it than forcing them to eat quantities against their will

Do that and they'll just hate the food their entire adult life

To say NOTHING of the fact that picking fights over food is just setting your child up for a weird, combative, potentially disordered mindset re: what they eat

Make the phrase "You don't have to like it, but you do have to just try it" your friend, and carry on

And even then, make exceptions for stuff your kid has a really strong aversion too

Also, if you have kids who are hesitant about foods, there's a YouTube channel called HiHo Kids where all sorts of kiddos try brand new foods as food challenges. It's adorable and Stitch is MUCH more adventurous about tasting a new thing if she pretends it's a food challenge