Rules For Food

We had many mealtime squabbles, and I was fed up with working hard to create nutritious, tasty meals for ungrateful picky children. So I insisted we create a family meal policy. This led to a couple of days of fighting betweenst me, Anton, and Iris (with Lucy on the sidelines), but the resulting policy has been extremely useful. We keep this bound in a little book Iris made, and the children often request that we refer to it, and the children show it to dinner guests as well.

Note: some rules were written by me, some by Anton, some by Iris; all were the result of committee squabbling and drafting. The poor draftsmanship and repetitiousness do not reflect upon my legal drafting abilities.

RULES FOR FOOD

FAMILY FOOD RULES*
1. Everyone must try food at meals unless they know they don't like it.

2. Children are not required to try or to eat foods they have previously rejected.

3. Children are not required to eat at a meal except to try new foods.

4. After meals, if anyone did not eat a reasonable serving, they can only eat fresh or dried fruit or vegetables until bedtime.

5. The following behaviors are prohibited during dinner:
- criticizing the food,
- making faces at food,
- asking for something different

and the following behaviors are mandatory:
- saying "thank you" to the person or people who cooked,
- sitting at the table peacefully,
- clearing one's plate at the end of the meal.

(signed at this point by Iris, Anton, Carole, Lucy)

CAT NO FOOD FOR CAT SO NO CAT'S FOOD ON THE TABLE.
IF THE CAT HAS FOOD TRY TO GET IT FROM THE CAT.

Iris likes caramelized onions.
Lucy likes potatoes.**

Menu: (Christmas Eve)***
warm olives
brie & pear croustades
roasted potatoes w/rouille
chocolate pie

* Yes, I know that is repetitious. What can I say, it was a committee effort, and half the committee members were aged 6 or under.

** I often serve dishes featuring caramelized onions, and Iris always says, "I don't like onions" although she adores them when caramelized. I always say, "But these onions are caramelized and you love caramelized onions", and then she eats her dinner. Adding this to the family food rules would theoretically cut out the need for that dialogue. Lucy asked that her love of potatoes be memorialized for reasons of her own.

*** I don't remember who insisted on including the Christmas Eve menu, but we wrote the Family Food Rules around the beginning of the year, and the Christmas Eve food was still fondly remembered by all, and there was some sentiment that it should not be forgotten. Evidently Christmas day's food was eminently forgettable.