Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for July 17, 2009

Mom rules, Calvin.

And you will sit at the table until you eat every last bite.

That includes the meat loaf!

Good sober second thought Calvin.

ladywolf17 said, And you will sit at the table until you eat every last bite.

That’s a little overbearing and besides, it never works. It didn’t when Mom did it to me and it didn’t when I tried it on my son. I didn’t even try it with the two that came after him.

When you spend that much time preparing food, I can’t blame her. Mum’s indeed rule :)

Woohoo, I’m up early for a change! Now back to bed…

What Calvin needs is a few siblings - namely an older sister.

Calvin got told! Hey, is mom going to referee a game after dinner?

Nobody gets mad better than Calvin’s Mom.

Yeh, but Mom’s a lil bit tooo mad!?? scaring~~ even Calvin stop being naughty. Maybe a kid like Calvin, need a mom like this. LoL

Yukoner,

You may have been too spoiled. Perhaps your parents let you get your way, but if I didn’t eat everything on my plate, I didn’t get desert. Period. I ate what I got and liked it - or starved!

Unfortunately, desert was sometimes something like fruit salad.

BC13 - I am with Yukoner on this one. I sat at that table until I fell asleep or my dad grabbed his belt(This usually yielded the fastest results). My daughter is the same, we will sit there till both of us want to cry.

Ok , then its plan B.

Ya, the belt was the best scare tactic. It work every time.

Calvin, you need to get your parents to split up, then they will bend over backward trying to get you on their side, it’ll be pizza night every night.

You should have told mum you were planning to fast, Calvin–and then made her send you to bed without supper (stole this from a Doonesbury strip of roughly same vintage as original run C&H).

(ya, I know Calvin would have needed to stash away some biscuits in his room for such contingency–and the obvious complication of Hobbes finding and consuming them way before)

Hey Calvin, you like Brussel Sprouts with your boiled liver? Or would you prefer cauliflower? Oh, and we’re having tofu cookies for dessert.

Never made our children eat everything on their plates, but they had to eat their vegetables first, and no dessert if they were “too full” to finish dinner. But no having to sit at the table for hours to eat something they most likely would just hurl back just a little later !

Children should never dictate to their parents.

Thats what i thought you meant, Calvin.

@Avolunteer, had this experience with my son (all of 4) recently… of course, he didn’t get to have ice cream later, so I hope that he’s got the mesg. that dinner comes first.

Of course, there’s no “finish everything on the plate” as yet, b’cos he doesn’t serve himself, but when he does, that rule will apply until he learns his true capacity.

I know it sounds dictatorial, but it’s not fair to waste food when there are people starving everywhere.

My wife told our young sons, “You will eat what I give you. If you complain, I will give you more.” They are now 17 and both are very sensible about eating all the fruits and veggies they should - and about eating at least a bit of the things they don’t care for. Start them as soon as they are feeding themselves - it really works! :-)

My youngest was a picky eater. We didn’t make him clean his plate, but if he didn’t eat what I served, he didn’t get dessert, either. Seems like over half the time he didn’t get dessert! Wouldn’t have thought he ate enough to grow to 6’3” like he did (but he’s still pretty thin!!)

No doubt if kids were brought up properly and taught about nutritional values, the fast food chains likely would not be as prosperous today. Obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol could be just a few of the things that would be less common as a result.

As Wicky said, children should never dictate to their parents. Most parents are trying to look out for their children’s health and welfare.

my little brother tried to do this once. he also likes to say he’s full of dinner but has room for ice cream cuz it melts. and he’s only four.

Well Calvin, you gave it your best shot.

My parents would let us serve ourselves, but we were expected to eat everything on our plates. Never being on the slender side, I decided that my sons could stop eating when they were full, as long as it appeared to be a reasonable amount of food, because I wanted them to not overeat. (And I wouldn’t let them eat a snack - unless it was fruit - too close before a meal.) We rarely serve dessert, so I can’t hold that over their heads. I’ll never forget the time my teacher insisted I clean my plate (served by the cafeteria staff - no choices on my part). I usually missed recess, instead of cleaning my plate. The last day she decided she would stand over me while I ate everything on my plate. I did, then promptly barfed it all back up.

Obviously Calvin didn’t know it was still “Opposite Day” as in yesterday’s strip.

RRAmom – did you toss it all back up ON HER? That would have been justice.

Didn’t have to do this with my two. We tried very hared not to over-serve them, They asked for more if they wanted. Kids will always say they ‘don’t like’ something they never tasted before. They had to at least try a new item.

cabrobst said, about 2 hours ago

Calvin, you need to get your parents to split up, then they will bend over backward trying to get you on their side, it’ll be pizza night every night. ————

Seriously? Is that really the answer? Break up the family so he can get his cookies in front of the TV?

I have watched the sun rise while sitting at the dinner table. I am glad my kids are not difficult when it comes to food. There are too many adults catering to their laziness as well as their children’s taste buds…feeding them fast food. This is one reason why there are more and more food alergies in the states these days. You can also see a decline in the cooking abilities of people. Used to be everyone cooked with the exception of a special night eating out. Now it is a special night if someone cooks. WTF is that all about? All these people complaining about the economy…try eating at home every night…it is cheaper. Put the money in the pocket of someone that matters…you.

Guess I am just part of the older crowd that doesn’t understand the new generation…fatter, lazier, broke…always wanting to blame everyone else.

CaLvIn RoX !!!

There was only one item my parents insisted I eat and I did not keep it down. After that (it was peas) if I didn’t want the vegetable we were having I had to eat fresh carrots and/or celery. That was fine with me–I skipped frozen and canned veg that way for years. I’ve never raised kids myself and would have a hard time doing what I’ve seen recommended, offering a food 6 times on different occasions before accepting it as rejected. On the other hand if parents enjoy their food, usually kids pick up on that too.

With my two when they where young and I would try something different I would tell them you won’t like it, but try anyway. They did and they didn’t mind. You notice yesterday strip talking about opposite, yet the moon was out because it was night. Evan though the strip is old the news where honoring the austronauts through history. I thought was befitting. Sorry about the spelling.

Between allergies and intolerances, some people really can’t eat some things. I always tried to give choices, such as raw or cooked. You can hide leftovers in soups lots of times. Serve with homemade bread!!

We didn’t get served–to many kids, I think–but we did have to taste each dish before refusing to eat it, and finish what we took. Generally worked out, except for one sister who just likes to eat many small meals rather than fewer big ones…

Calvin, just wait until you’re older, then you can have a pint of Wild Turkey & a box of Ding-Dongs for supper!

My mother apportioned everything out but rarely gave us more than we wanted except for veggies. I’ll never forget being a kid and she’d ask if I wanted peas or corn or a little bit of both. I thought “both” was something different so I’d ask for that. Then I was surprised to find both peas and corn on my plate. Where was the “both”? LOL

Reminds me of the newlyweds as the new bride is cooking their 1st meal. She says, “My mother taught me how to cook. My best things are meat loaf and apple pie.” The new husband looks at the plate she’s just set before him and asks, “Which is this?” [Sorry about that, ladies.]

Then there’s the boy about Calvin’s age at a family reunion dinner. The father gives the youngster the priviledge of saying grace before the meal. The boy begins by giving thanks for the extended family members, and then proceeds to give thanks for the chicken, the mashed potatoes, the fruit salad and even the milk. There follows a long pause. then the boy turns to his father beside him and audibly whispers, “If I thank God for the broccoli, won’t he know I’m lying?”

Amazing how mankind has survived the trials and tribulations of raising it’s young. ….or has it?

Mom just gave Calvin his first lesson in “redefined reality”.

Thats mummy power for u calvin

Forcing kids to eat more than they want turns off the “I’m full and can stop now” marker- as scientists have shown.

I had to eat a bite of everything and it was what Mo;m cooked or a peanut butter sandwich.

Oh, and I still, due to a GENE, have developed a condition called Celiac Disease. I can show you the antibody report- my body makes them when I eat wheat, barley, or rye- and the biopsy showing the DAMAGE to my intestines.

My body attacks itself when I eat these things. It is not an allergy, but a disease like lupus or MS. It can lead to cancer, blocks calcium absorption (I have very thin bones, ate a lot of dairy growing up)

And while I rarely ate the sandwich, I have developed a peanut butter allergy.

The science says our too-clean environment may be causing allergies! Maybe eating fries cooked in peanut oil may add exposures (more exposure, more risk of allergies). But the PB&J homemade sandwich is exposure as well…

Oh, and today I’m a vegetarian who has had several nutritionists look at her diet- my protein is where it should be, I eat 4 servings of veggies and 3 of fruit most days, and yes I eat enough carbs. And good ones.

I cook for Mom now- she’s disabled- and I cook a wider variety of food and more fresh and frozen fruits and veggies at each meal than she did! They’re cooked healthier too, and even my father, raised in the South by his grandmother, thinks my food is (generally) delicious and good!

Just as long as its not water chestnuts with canned tangerines over rice. heeblerah!(shudder!) Try eating the last bite of that Calvin!

i try to get my son to eat what ever i make , but then if it tastes bad to me, well then it is what ever is in the fridge is fair game for us both.

My mother was an absolutely horrible cook. I weighed 128 lbs. and had a 26 inch waist, at 6 feet tall. In Navy boot camp I put on almost thirty pounds…they had to re-issue uniforms…

Worst is when you are forced to eat something which you dislike (and/or are allergic to) for the sake of “tradition” or because it is “scared offering”. I actually had this experience with my mum, on certain days when she prepared:

pongal and coconut-chutney (I absolutely despise coconut chutney, I even asked her if I could take idly-chili-powder or daal-powder instead, but she wouldn’t allow it–btw, those would have been much better , as well as healthier, than the coconut-chutney) any items (such as yoghurt-rice) which included cucumbers (both true–I am allergic to cucumbers, and despise them)

We let our kids serve themselves. They were expected to take a spoonful of anything they weren’t sure they would like but if someone looked at dish and said “EEUCHH” my husband would put a portion on their plate that was considerably larger than a spoonful. He insisted that they be polite and he never left the table without thanking me for the meal. (Probably because his mom left money on the table for he and his brother to go eat at the little local cafe while she was at the bar.) He was a marvelous husband and a good dad.

My nephews would eat anything if it “talked” (courtesy of yours truly) in a high falsetto, shrieking: “Please don’t eat me! No! No! Arrrrrggghhh! No, not again! Pleasssssse….” If the ventriloquist was out of order, they ate what was served, or not, their choice. A conservative serving of dessert was considered part of the meal, no seconds on dessert unless all the meal was eaten, and nothing esle to eat until the bedtime snack, juice or milk and graham crackers.

hey everyone, sorry i haven’t been on much lately, i’ve been obsessed with facebook and haven’t really been able to get on alot. has anything changed around here?

I don’t recall having a problem with this as a kid. My parents must have done something right, though. By the time I was 11 years old, I was a health nut. I recall making my mom buy spinach and peas.

This is fascinating, to read about everybody’s different experiences. I have only one thing to add. I love liver, but when somebody put in “boiled liver”, I shuddered. There are better and worse ways to cook foods. You can make food really delicious, and this makes it more likely that other people will like it.

Wow. So many interesting stories. C&H must be the most commented on strip of all the strips I look at. Non-Sequitur probably comes in second.

Interesting reading about all your diets. I can tell you that my mom cooked everything to death. No crunch in the vegetables (unless they were raw) and crunch to the over-cooked meats. There are a number of vegies I stopped eating when the choice was finally mine. Many of the items on this list were a part of Mom’s finicky & limited diet. If she didn’t like it, she didn’t eat it. But, if she liked it, you ate it too.

I stopped eating: Green & waxed beans, peas, spinache, cucumbers and brussel sprouts. Due to acid reflux, I later had to cut out acidic fruits including unfortunately tomatos. I also cut out mac & cheese (which my Mom never ate).

I added rice, asparigus, mushrooms, sweet potato, green & red peppers (and the other colors) and sqash.

Not to get too into meats & fish, but a couple of pork products that I love that I never had as a kid were pork ribs and pigs knuckles and any kind of seafood or fresh fish.

I added a number of spices to the traditional salt and pepper and used them in the cooking process which Mom never did. It also eliminated the need to keep ketsup in the fridge.

BC13 - I’m with you on that!!! We were poor, growing up, and rarely GOT dessert. With 3 boys only 4 years apart, if you weren’t quick enough, you didn’t GET enough! Calvin needs to learn to be thankful THAT HE IS EVEN GETTING FOOD!! The northern Sudanese who are in in power in Sudan are trying to starve the southern Sudanese into oblivion. Getting the meal that Calvin is snubbing would be heaven for them.

I hate that fasting because 1 hr later gut wrenching hunger that does terrible things to a young active boy

My husband and I are not picky eaters, and our daughter likes almost everything. She saw us eating and enjoying food, and so she did the same. The only foods she didn’t like were tomatos, melon, and hot chocolate. She ate broccoli with enjoyment. I had a friend who insisted that her son was a picky eater. After I observed her own finicky habits, it was easy to see why he was picky.

Who made the rule, “Eat everything on your plate or no dessert”?

Another food memory: when a small child (2-6 years) balked at eating carrots, my mom would cut them into several sections and call it a choo-choo train, and then ask how Daddy would get home if the train was eaten. Worked with us kids, and even worked once when we were visiting her mother, who had a live-in helper with a young daughter. She (the 3-year old) giggled and started grabbing carrot train-cars to gobble.

I had my sons eat balanced meals, and try a bit of each new item. They were pretty healthy, and still are. One of them eats more vegetables than the others, and one eats more meat than the others, but, they were all breast fed, and had no learning problems, no serious eye problems, no glasses, until they were older, and were all mentally and physically above average. As a teacher, I see too many children eating poorly, strange diets that limit their development, and mental acuity. I wonder how many of these new developmental problems and physical problems could be traced to the formula and food fed to these children ? A mother / father always teaches their children to eat. If you have a “picky” child, you remember: you put the food in his/her mouth and hand since birth. You did it.

Turning every meal into a power struggle? Great way to induce a lifelong eating disorder.

Wow, this topic sure brings out the opinions.

You know, the “clean your plate” mentality toward kids and dinner time is why we have such a large portion of our population being overweight now days in the US. I mean, don’t give the kid desert if he doesn’t finish dinner, fine… But making a kid sit at the table until he finishes eating only ends up teaching bad habits that stick into adulthood. I know a lot of overweight people, myself included, that eat as much as they do because it’s so ingrained into them that they’re supposed to eat until the food is gone rather than stopping when they’re full.