No. When a child gets hungry he/she eat everything.

No we don't force our son to eat anything, my parents were that way and I hated it. We do however encourage him to try at least a bite to taste it and see i fhe likes it. He is four years old and I can only think of a few things he WILL NOT eat. HE hates all fruit (except bananas) and he won't eat clams or hard-shell crabs.

definately not. I don't think it helps, and the child will probably grow up to hate the thing you tried to force on them. I agree with pickngrin that it's a good idea to encourage them to try something new though. And research has shown that if a child tries something out 10 times he/she will begin to think it's okay and will like it or tolerate it more on the tenth occasion than on the first.

No- pick your battles. If they try it and don't like it, let it go.

no! just cuz its a little kid it dont mean the kid doesnt have taste buds.. if the kid thinks something is nasty they dont have to eat it.. evrybody is different.

No. Their tastes may change as they get older, but trying to force them to eat when they don't like it could possibly turn them against it for good.

I think if the food is healthy for them such as salads,fruits and vegetables,they should be made to eat them.My good health today is because of eating habits I learned.It is important the children learn good eating habits,and therefore stay away from obesity and premature diabetes.

Well how i look at it would i like someone force feeding me food i dont like...no i wouldnt so why force a child they know weather or not they like the taste or not.

It's not just about forcing your child to experience something unpleasant for no real reason. One of the foundations of an competent adult personality is a sense of autonomy, owning the decisions we make as adults, knowing we can make decisions and that we can become successful people by making our own decisions and that we are responsible for the consequences of our actions, all of this comes from being allowed the room to make age appropriate decisions as a child. A child is never too young to express a taste or dislike for something he/she eats and never too young to use this information to make the decision not to eat that thing. Forcing a child to ignore their preference for foods is stealing their autonomy, and stunting their development into a responsible adult. You are telling them that their preference for food does not matter, their opinion is worthless and should be ignored and that a decision which is theirs and theirs alone isn't theirs - it's yours. There's no possible harm in allowing a child to make age appropriate decisions for themselves, in fact it's impossible to raise a child properly without doing this as a rule you follow consistently. We all want our children to eat healthy, and to make other good decisions about their lives but they'll never learn to make a good decision if we never let them make decisions for themselves. The things you should do in this situation are: Set a good example, let them see you eating healthy, Explain why you want them to eat whatever it is - green leafy vegetables are full of vitamins, etc, Remind them that they can't know if they like it if they don't try it if they refuse something they've never eaten. Present the food to them several dozen times to give them an opportunity to try it and then if they still won't eat it, move on. You've done all you can do.