General Chat

What you could do Supercrutch is to shred or chop the sprouts for your grandchild and test the theory by saying she doesn't have to have the green balls, she can have the very special treat called Brassica oleracea instead ;-)

Oh no Sharron, that's just horrible and so cruel.

No,Emma, worse than that.

What came up had to go down again!

I never had to Sharron thank goodness
and my Mum.

I heard of that happening once and the teacher making them eat it again.

At school I ate all vegetables but could never and
still can't eat fat.
One teacher made me eat it after I warned her I would
be sick, she didn't believe that nonsense ( her words)
and she got in the way of the outcome.

Theoretically I should like boiled fish and mash as a combination, but I don't. I should love veal and ham pie, but I don't, I should like fruit and nut chocolate but I don't...all things that I should have 'learned' to like from the overt signals given by family around me as a child.

If small children have no taste likes and dislikes, why did I like to suck the flannel because I liked the taste of soap? I didn't 'learn' that behaviour from anyone ;-)

That is weird and I hate it. Those are my two least favourite advertisements.

I think the television advertisement depicting an old man spying on a little girl through a telescope is probably a greater cause for concern.

Turnip. Cooked turnip, mashed. YUCK. Detest it. The small white turnips... I eat them raw!

I think was about 8, brother was 6........... mum made mashed potatoes (which we didn't get too often).......... we both took a forkful........ and howled. Mum had mashed turnip with the potato. Why did mother think we wouldn't notice? Brother and I still hate mashed turnips.

Turnips go into soup or pasties.

To an extent I would agree, if you give out even unconsciously that greens ( or anything) have to be eaten because they are a 'necessary evil' rather than 'nice' a child will of course pick up on that. But it doesn't nec' follow that what a parent likes the taste or texture of a child will also does it.


Of course not many people can actually cook sprouts so they taste great, usually they are hard round shot that no one in their right mind would like.

No, I truly did not like cheese and neither did I like turnip.

I persevered with the turnip but I don't eat it now. Turnip greens were even worse. I could manage swede greens if I swallowed them without chewing but turnip greens were just too awful to even do that.

I might add that I also did not like ice-cream at the time, it was too cold for my liking but would, and still will, do anything for custard or blancmange.

Family story I was told .........

When my mother was expecting me, she craved boiled eggs.

Rationing was still going on in the UK, but my grandparents had chickens, so mum had a supply of eggs.......... lots of eggs.

Two for breakfast, two for lunch, and at least three for dinner!

When it came time to get me onto "solids" she tried a mashed up soft boiled egg, and I spat it out! She couldn't get me to eat eggs in any form until I was about five years old. To this day, I have to be in the mood for an egg...... the sight of a too runny white can turn my stomach over.

Aaah but young children don't have taste likes and dislikes do they? These are 'learned' reactions through overt or covert signals they pick up on.....

You may disagree but that's my belief.

Food allergies are perfectly understandable and must be taken into account but apart from that Mummy knows what a balanced diet is and the child doesn't :-D

*puts hat with "NASTY MUMMY" flashing in LEDs on head*

at primary school I disliked "swede" whether it really was swede or mashed carrots, it was awful, but I enjoy any veg these days.


remember my mother quartering cabbage, and me clamouring for the "stalky" parts!

I eat anything that's put in front of me - although nobody's given me sheep's eyes or that kind of thing yet.

As far as advertising is concerned I really like the Premier Inn advert with Katie Melua's song, Wonderful Life (Here I go .. etc).

However, the best ad I can think of has got to be the Coca Cola Christmas ad. There are some limp Xmas ones around at the moment but all that CC needs to do is to play that music with a black screen and everyone will know what's being advertised at Christmas. They can flash the CC sparkling red van on towards the end of the ad then and everyone will say, 'I knew it was that.'

I would eat anything as a child but did not like cheese. Unusually, I left some mashed potato with cheese on top on my plate at school.

Headmasters wife told me I had to eat it but, upon my explaining that I didn't like cheese, she told me I would have to learn to like it!

How the hell do you do that then?

The only reason I didn't like cheese then was because we had really strong stuff, and how I would love a bit of that now, at home (no concessions for little palates in our house) and it hurt my mouth to eat it.

I still have nightmares about being persuaded to eat up my sprouts 'twas in the 1950's and I can see myself sitting at the table staring at these cold smelly items...never ate one since :-D :-D :-D

I have a problem with this 'eat what's in front of you' stuff due to being forced to do that at school.... why should a child have less right to say 'I don't like the taste of that' than an adult?

Yes encourage them to try it by all means, I didn't like sprouts as a child I do now. Dan ate veggies without any bother, but if he said I don't like the taste of something then, as now, I gave him credit for knowing what he likes and what he doesn't ( fwiw he didn't like sugary sweets!) ...does it really take much for a parent to leave a few sprouts off a plate? No it doesn't...nor does the old line about 'starving children in Africa would be grateful ' make it right to push people to eat what they don't want.

Rose, having a hissy because I fell and smashed into a table this morning and it hurts! :-|

It is the mother in the advertisement who annoys me.

I do think she should get a life and not force food down the child that she clearly does not like.