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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DD is 6 and has almost never eaten meat.  She didn't like the texture when she was little, and her best friend in preschool was vegetarian so I think it reinforced for her the idea that she didn't have to eat it.  We have never forced her to eat meat but always offer it.

One night, we had ribs.  In horor, she asked "what animal is that?"  I told her it was a pig.  She got kind of upset (her favorite stuffed animal is a pig) and went and finished her dinner at the kitchen table.  She then started refusing to sit with the rest of the family at dinner when we eat meat.  I wanted to force her to eat with us, but DH said not to make a big deal of it and that it was just a phase, so I agreed and we allowed her to eat in the kitchen.

Well, it has been months and she still often, though not always, eats by herself at the kitchen table when we serve meat for dinner. She only gets upset about it when I try to force her to eat dinner with us.  I have talked to her about it and told her I think it is important to eat together and we want to spend time with her together as a family during dinner.  She insists it is about the meat, although usually she eats with us when the meat is not obviously meat (like in spaghetti sauce or something.)  She seems fine when eating by herself but I feel like it is setting up a weird dynamic.  We have another child (younger) who happily eats anything.

Force her to eat with us or leave it alone?[/quote] I see that I am in the minority, but I would respect this.  It is important that the family eat together, but there are other occasions for this to happen.  Honestly, I'd be kind of impressed if my 6 year old took a moral stance on something like that and stuck with it; that is important also.  I wouldn't let the meal alone be more enjoyable than the family meal (no book or electronics or anything, just like at the main table) and I would carry on.[/quote]

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