Last weekend I somehow stumbled upon a post on CNN about tricks parents told their kids to get them to eat certain foods. Ok… they used the word “lies” … but “tricks” to me sounds at least semi-honest. 
The actual post had some funny stuff (“Brussle sprouts will make you grow hair on your chest” ?!?) , it was the comment section that really made it. There was a lengthy debate about the physiological response to hot drinks on a hot day, and lots of laughable confessions from parents just trying to get their little tayder-tots to pick a healthy snack. You can find the original post HERE but here are some of my favorite highlights:
Susan
“What about “eat your vegetables, starving children in (insert country here) would die for those vegetables”
REPLY
Jason
“I always told my parents I would pay the postage.”
Andrew
“My mom would say eat three bites and if you still don’t want it you don’t have to eat it. ……”
[That was definitely a rule in my house!! And I'm pretty sure I was the only 5 year old who'd pick seconds on asparagus and not dessert!]
Tracy
“When I was very little my mom told me you couldn’t chew gum until you were 21. It worked for a few years. I stopped asking for gum!”
Grondahl
“I’m starting my toddler early. Anything that’s out of bounds is “Hot!” Candy bars, stove tops, dishwashers, cookies, edible or not, they’re all “Hot!” We’ll see how long he goes without developing a complex.
REPLY
LSbloo
“Careful with that one or once he realizes that cookies aren’t hot he may figure the stove isn’t either.”
Elyssa
When I was a toddler, I wouldn’t eat fish. So my parents told me it was ocean meat and I ate it.
My dad told me all sorts of food would put hair on my chest. Luckily I knew he wasn’t serious because I certainly didn’t want hair on my chest.
I told my son that the ice cream truck was the music truck. His jaw dropped open when he was two and saw kids at the park getting ice cream from the music truck. I had to tell him the truth then.
Kat220
“A neighbor used to tell her sons that when the ice cream man played music that he was out of ice cream. 
My mom always says she wishes she had thought of that.”
girlwonder
“My parents used a lot of these on us, so it’s been very entertaining reading through all of these. My kids were small when the ‘Land Before Time’ baby dinosaur movies were popular. I always served them raw baby spinach leaves for dinner, and told them they were ‘tree stars’, the favorite food of the baby dinosaurs. The kids were so happy to have a pile of these leaves they ate them right up. They are 14 & 20 now, so they don’t believe me anymore, but they still eat their spinach raw & say they will tell their kids the same thing.”
[I LOVED this one because I was hooked on Land Before Time. Any time I had to stay home from school sick, my dad would let me pick up a movie (and a 12 pack of diet ginger ale). I rotated between My Neighbor Totoro and the Land Before Time series… ahhhh memories.
Tree stars!!!
OK…. sorry – this is obviously nothing Dr.TriRunner related, but it was fun.
READER QUESTION: What “tricks” did your parents tell you as a kid to get you to eat certain foods? Mom – if you’re reading this one… what am I missing? I know I went through a picky stage, but both my sister and I were pretty good about eating our peas!!
Catch you guys soon. Despite my lengthy absence, I do have several posts ready to go! Wishing you all the best,
-E
My dad called sloppy joes “tidy Agnes”. Not really a trick, but I remember that. We were expected to try things, but we didn’t have to eat anything we really didn’t want. And we were always free to have cereal if we didn’t want what was served for dinner.
.-= Chelsea´s last blog ..Mississippi =-.
those are hilarious! my parents never really cared too much about what i ate growing up. i wish i had some funny stories like the ones you posted!
and LBT?! LOVE IT!!
.-= Karyn´s last blog ..There’s a Light in the Darkness =-.
Haha those are hilarious! My mom just made me sit at the table until we finished. I remember sitting there until 10 PM once!
.-= Matt´s last blog ..Time To Open Shop! =-.
I don’t remember any real tricks, but I do know that we didn’t get dessert unless we ate everything on our plate. Worked like a charm for me, but my brother didn’t care about dessert so it did NOT work for him!
.-= Emily (A Nutritionist Eats)´s last blog ..kitchen gadget- salad spinner =-.
I don’t remember any either. I do remember my mom asking what we wanted for our vegetable and when we’d say corn she would say corn’s not a vegetable. I still say that people. I ate cooked spinach, beets, wax beans, you name it without question. Definitely not a picky eater even when it came to veggies.
I think I ate just about anything. Except for peas and lima beans, so my parents just let me get away with not eating those.
.-= SSB´s last blog ..My Security Blanket =-.
AWww I had a Little Foot stuffed animal when I was younger. Now I want to go dig it out of my parents’ attic!
No tricks in this family. I would have to stay at the table until I ate all of my fish. I hated fish. And I still do.
.-= Abby´s last blog ..Recommendations =-.
my dad was always telling us to eat everything, my mom was the opposite. my grandma is definitely my role model to healthy eating, “try everything once” was her motto. definitely does the trick and still does!
xoxo
Milk = muscle juice. Obvs I didn’t drink enough because I don’t have any muscles!
.-= Adam´s last blog ..Blogging intervals- Tempo Runs- Sensitive Nipples- SF Marathon Winner =-.
I can’t remember any tricks my parents used to play on me regarding food, but I do remember that on Christmas morning, my dad always had to “check to see if Santa came”…if it was too early in the morning, my dad would say Santa hadn’t come yet so we had to back to sleep!
Such a good idea.
.-= Susan´s last blog ..LOVE-hate =-.
Crusts (on bread) make your hair curly!
Haha – funny…but as a parent trying to do the TRICKING is no good
I even feel bad filling a stocking from Santa?
Isnt that TRICKING them?
lol
-D
.-= DRog´s last blog ..Settling in =-.
OMG – that movie brings back such warm memories – must find it and watch it again…
Tricks? NONE – they were just straight – “your doing this”. For example – we weren’t allowed to leave the house for school unless we ate our breakfast – usually oatmeal – …that would usually be a good thing for a kid I guess…but they were so strict about it that I think I preferred school to staying home with them!!
eat´s last [type] ..Pamela’s Products Give-Away!
Oh I love land before time!!! I actually was the kid that liked all my vegetables. I think it was because my mom loaded them cheese or cream, haha.
lindsay´s last [type] ..Victory says it All
too funny. love the land before time one
This was a great post because I can totally relate to a lot of them! haha! I wasn’t a picky eater though and would usually always just eat what was in front of me. Now my brother…totally different story!
HAHAHA YOU ARE SO FUNNY!!
I WAS NEVER EVER PICKY! I WAS ORDERING steaks when i was like 10 yrs old!
LOVE what you shared- amen girl, Gods plan are always so crazy, but SO perfect! Gota have faith and trust!! HE will reward it
Dude…where’s these posts you were promising us! Did you end up doing Brewhouse? No…cause your injured. I’m losing track. Update! Please!!!
[...] Trix are for Kids! [...]
I remember sitting with Mom and Dad at the table before you were born. Dad wanted me to eat the canned green beans, my arch nemesis. “Three more bites.”
And since I could talk before I could count, “No, five!” I’d protest.