My mom would tell us what we were having, and there was no discussion. Don't like liver, tough, you will not leave the table until you eat every bite.
CD
That's how it was when I was growing up. We were required to go to ethnic restaurants and try new dishes because our dad was in the Army before they got married and wanted us to try new things. Like most things, there were some hits and some misses.
As a parent, though, I never prepared things I know most kids don't care for (ie. beef tongue, liver, chitterlings, etc.). Honestly, I hated those foods so I've never cooked them at all. Also, I made all my babies' food from organic fruits and vegetables and breast milk so they were never opposed to eating them.
Here's a funny from when my daughter was two. We went to a neighbor's house for pizza. We brought salad and bottled water. They put plates on the table for all of us and gave the adults salad bowls. Our daughter climbed on the table and grabbed some salad for her plate as the couple stared in disbelief. It went like this...
Wife: How do you get her to eat vegetables?
Me: What do you mean?
Wife: <Grandson, 11> won't eat any fruits and vegetables at all.
Me: Oh, she doesn't have a job or a driver's license. She eats what we give her. ;-)
To this day, my kids will choose a home-cooked meal over fast food and will always eat regular food before desserts. My son is a bit more picky than my daughter but he will still make healthy food choices. Mostly he doesn't care for fish whereas my daughter will try almost any new food.
