Kids often waste most of the food on their plate. I don't think PPs are assholes for not wanting to potentially throw away $20, 30, 50 dollars worth of food just so junior can have a taste. We don't all have a limitless budget on DCUM. I will let a child try anything from my plate, but no, I am not going to prepare a lobster for a child who I know will eat ONE BITE and be done, just for the sake of developing his palate.

Anonymous wrote:We are French, and my 7 year old son and 2 year old daughter love foie gras and caviar, hate lobster, and have never tried oysters (because I dislike them and never buy the buggers).

We are not rich, but love an occasional taste of sophisticated food - that we all share.

Reserving it for the grown-ups would be mean and hinder our children's palates from developing an appreciation for food.

Maybe there is a cultural difference?

No, the PPs are just assholes!

Recently I bought scallops from WF ($20/lbs., never been frozen) and my toddler wanted some. He actually loves trying different things and loves good food, so he gobbled them down. Part of me was glad that he liked them, part of me wished I'd made them after he went to bed.

I wish my kids would eat what we eat. But one eats only chicken. The other actually does have broader tastes and will try new dishes. He has a fondness for lamb, which is an expensive habit. Luckily both hate lobster. I don't mind paying as long as they eat it. The only time I am cautious is if one wants to order an expensive dish in a restaurant that I know will go half eaten. We try to go for appetizer portions in those instances.

Anonymous wrote:I feel like in my family, we sort of do the opposite of what OP is asking about. Like I just bought a 12 pack of ramen to have on hand for cheap easy work lunches. But I don't want my kids eating that crap. And I notice that we'll buy beautiful fruit that is such a treat for the kids that I save it for them and never end up eating any.

This is us, too. Particularly fresh fruit. DD would eat a quart of strawberries a day and loves the fruit salad from whole foods. I buy it constantly but always save it all for her.

Anonymous wrote:We are not rich, but love an occasional taste of sophisticated food - that we all share.

Reserving it for the grown-ups would be mean and hinder our children's palates from developing an appreciation for food.

Maybe there is a cultural difference?

Exactly!!
- an American

Wow. This thread amazes me. Actually I keep the best chocolate for the LO, and they eat everything we eat. Only exceptions are foods where I would worry about safety at their age, like some raw foods.

No. Good food is for everyone.

I get it OP, sometimes certain things are a special treat for the grown ups. I hide my good dark chocolate--the kids and DH will just gobble it down and not appreciate it as much as they would a Reeses' peanut butter cup. I once baked a batch of rich gourmet brownies because we had friends coming over and left them to cool while I went to an appointment. Came home and DH had let the kids and his buddy's kids eat half the pan (and this is a recipe that I cut into 1" squares typically, because that's really enough). That didn't go over too well with me.

Things like lobster, once a year concord grapes, etc., if the kids actually like it, no problem, but don't mess with mom's chocolate! DH has his small batch bourbon, so don't mess with my brownies!

Perhaps, but we allow our children to eat Russian caviar, and we are American.

We are French, and my 7 year old son and 2 year old daughter love foie gras and caviar, hate lobster, and have never tried oysters (because I dislike them and never buy the buggers).

We are not rich, but love an occasional taste of sophisticated food - that we all share.

Reserving it for the grown-ups would be mean and hinder our children's palates from developing an appreciation for food.

Maybe there is a cultural difference?

My daughter often asks for fancy foods, but doesn't end up eating much. Like lobster. She asks for one EVERY time we go to the grocery store, but the time I actually bought and prepared one, she had one bite and was done. She still asks for it. So yeah, I'm not going to spend a bunch of money on something I'm pretty sure will be rejected. That said, she's always welcome to share anything I'm eating. And I don't eat much lobster, myself. Preferred fried fish if I'm on the coast.

Though it reminds me of a story about my brother... he was around 2, in a restaurant with my parents, and was fascinated by all the platters of oysters going past. He kept saying "want dat!" So my parents ordered two raw oysters. He watched the other diners, and carefully painted a little cocktail sauce on, squeezed a little lemon, and ate it. And then the other. And then "want MORE!" They ended up ordering a dozen and a half oysters for him that day, in batches of two, before he stopped demanding more. He actually drew a crowd, amazed by this little kid scarfing down raw oysters like they were going out of style.

So hey, you never know what your kids will like til you try, and I prefer that my kid like EVERYTHING. Or at least know enough to know what she likes and doesn't like, and not have a knee-jerk "eww" reaction to something unfamiliar.

Anonymous wrote:I would not waste oysters or beluga caviar and blinis on my kids.

We do. It just means it can't be as often as we'd like. How else will they learn?

Sometimes Mama doesn't share. The first asparagus of the season was eaten after DC went to bed. So were the first peas. I haven't shared goat's milk butter either.

But otherwise no, if it is what we're eating, DC tries it.

I feel like in my family, we sort of do the opposite of what OP is asking about. Like I just bought a 12 pack of ramen to have on hand for cheap easy work lunches. But I don't want my kids eating that crap. And I notice that we'll buy beautiful fruit that is such a treat for the kids that I save it for them and never end up eating any.