We didn’t have much money, but that wasn’t really the point to Mom. If I didn’t want her tahini-filled meatballs or fried liver and onions it was, she reasoned, because I wasn’t hungry enough. Mom often delayed dinner to whet my appetite. A ravenous kid is the best way to raise a good eater, she reasoned. But if I flat out refused to eat my dinner she’d comfort me by saying, “Don’t worry. We’ll have a big breakfast tomorrow.”

There were no fights. No screaming matches. She never pleaded with me. And she most certainly didn’t bribe me with dessert.

I raise my 5-year old daughter with the same principle—and just like at Mom’s, “ew” is never tolerated.

When kids react to food