“She’s become very upset”
A mum has been called out after enforcing the ‘clean plate’ rule when her child’s friend was visiting. The ‘clean plate’ rule means you’re not allowed dessert unless you’ve finished everything on your dinner plate.
The mum makes her own children follow this rule, but also made her child’s friend follow it too, which many found a little too extreme.
She wrote on Mumsnet, “We have close friends whose house we eat at, or they eat at ours, fairly often. They have different expectations at dinner time for their kids than I do – they enforce a very strict ‘clear your plate or no pudding’ rule, I don’t do this.
The woman explained that she usually doesn’t mind this rule because it is her friend’s house, but lately it has been upsetting her daughter.
She explained that her little girl has been coming home in tears because she’s been forced to eat full plates of food.
“There have been quite a few times recently when she’s become very upset at being forced to eat a whole plate full of food she doesn’t want with the threat of no pudding hanging over her.”
Like most kids, her daughter loves pudding so it upsets her when her friend’s mum says she isn’t allowed any.
“They have to eat everything and they follow through with the threat of no pudding. It’s got to the point where I’m finding reasons not to go there to eat.
“Especially because my daughter is so anxious about it.”
“It’s got to the point where I’m finding reasons not to go there to eat.”
The friend even enforces the same rule when she is visiting the woman’s house.
She said she doesn’t generally make her own children follow this rule and feels uncomfortable when her guests do it.
The mum is worried that this rule is going to create issues for her daughter when it comes to eating.
“I also don’t want to force her to eat or use pudding as a reward.”
Should the mum put her foot down and call out the other mum?
“If I’m following their rules in their home surely they should return the gesture when in my house?”
What do you think?
