h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's all psychology. If you are persistent, you can let other people think it was their idea in the first place.

He may have set Emma up for a better future due to all of the interest generated this way, but I am not sure she would agree it to be the right kind of interest.

I agree - this small-town psychology is pretty interesting stuff.

It is. My nearly four year old can still be persuaded to eat something he didn't want to in a very similar way.

You have cool parenting strategies.

I recently managed to persuade him to believe bulgur wat tiny bits of meat. He ate the lot.

He does have phases in which he does not want to eat specific colours. The trick is to hide that colour under something else on his spoon.

Creativity is everything...

It's so good that they usually grow out of this.

His older brother needs solid facts. Like: If you don't eat this you will stay small and you will get run over all the time during ice hockey.

Problem is, they can use that kind of stuff agaunst you.

How do they use it against you?

Yesterday, my 11-year-old greatnephew refused to eat a deep-fried pickle. Personally, I didn't blame him, no matter how good his mom said it was.

Coming back out of bed at night and claiming he has to eat something, preferably something else than what we had for dinner.

A have my doubts about deep fried pickles as well...

We have the rule that if we hate the food, they don't have to eat it.

Sometimes things don't turn out as planned.

I can see where that could be an issue. Have you tried getting some military MREs as backup? They might never complain again.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/us-military-mre-12-variety-entrees?a=1800819&pm2d=CSE-SPG-15-PLA&utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=Google&utm_campaign=CI&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxJmt-NvY2wIVDgeGCh0howT1EAQYBCABEgKy9PD_BwE

I, too, refuse to eat a deep-fried pickle. I don't have to, because I have celiac disease and deep-fried pickles aren't gluten free.