wdyd?

hmonkey

you are a child, grade school age.  you are attending a dinner party with your parents.  there is a buffet. 

do you serve yourself, or do your parents serve you? 
if you serve yourself, do you try new things?
if your parents serve you, do you tell them what you want to eat?

what would you do if you were the parent?

arbolita

I don't remember buffet dinner parties as a kid, but we did make several trips to Horn and Horn.  From what I remember, I always served myself, but I did not typically try new things.  If my parents/grandparents had something on their plate that I'd never had, I might try some of theirs.

baconsmom

If Bacon can reach, she can serve herself. I'd go behind her and remind her not to take giant portions (though she doesn't really have an issue most of the time) and explain what unfamiliar things are so she can decide if she wants to try them. 

That's assuming we're at a leisurely, Sunday-brunch sort of buffet. If we go to, like, Sweet Tomatoes, I just go through and ask what she wants (Romaine or iceberg? Peas or broccoli? Mushrooms or peppers?) so we're not holding anyone else up. 

NOLABridesmaid

Are we talking 3rd grade? I would say 5th grade and under would be me fixing their plate. I'm sure I know what my child likes, but I still have power of the plate, so that means a few things they don't like might make it on there.

I think by 6th grade I would stand next to them in the line making sure they weren't making a mess, and wasting food, but they would fix their own plate.

TheDuckis

We would have been coached before going through the line. No more than one biscuit, do not hoard fried chicken, must take vegetables. If we did not follow instructions my mother would tell us we were rude greedy brats and we'd be punished for embarrassing her.

6fsn

As a child, I would go down the buffet with my parents.  It's faster and cleaner this way.  They would put things on the plate that I liked, things I wanted, and a few things I had to try. 

I'd like to avoid a buffet at all costs, but I'd probably make 6let's plate for awhile.  Again it's faster and more sanitary (my kid is DIRTY).  I'd let him pick (make him pick) some new things to take a few bites of.  I'd also make sure there were enough things I know he'd like.

ReturnOfKuus

I filled my own plate as soon as I was old enough to do so, like, 4ish.  I'd take things I knew and things that were unfamiliar but looked and smelled appetizing.

Mrs.Thistletwat

I was pretty much allowed free reign on my plate from the time I could reach, see, and serve myself without splattering everyone. Early rounds of Bar and Bat Mizvahs taught me that. Kids' buffet was always available.

hmonkey

why i ask:

from where i cheat -- a hostess wrote in to complain about kids at her dinner party.  in some cases, parents were using her dinner party as a way to introduce their kids to new foods.  that's fine, but she was a little surprised to see caviar and blinis on a kid's plate, knowing that the food would either be wasted or picked at.

there's also the separate issue of a parent piling adult portions on a child's plate, but to me, that's no different than anyone taking more food than they are going to eat, knowingly or not.

is it terrible to make a separate kid's meal and limit the kids choices to that?

it's just that in this day and age, i just see parents freaking out over someone else giving their little angel eating hfcs or boxed mac and cheese.

baconsmom

How did she know the caviar and blini would be wasted? 

I think the parents know what the kids will like. Bacon wouldn't want mac-n-cheese and chicken fingers, because that's generally not what she eats at home. She's an adventurous eater, and if she wanted to try those things, she could have my portion. 

I think it is terrible to limit a child's choices. I wouldn't be happy to leave a dinner party with a hungry Bacon, or with a hungry me AND a hungry Bacon because I had to share with her and neither of us ate enough. If this bothers her so much, stop inviting the children to the dinner parties. 

Cant_wait!

boohoo, just don't invite kids to your dinner parties, or don't serve caviar and blini at a dinner party with kids. adurr.

*Barbie*

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_wdyd?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:8f8590de-0315-49b2-a891-7d89afd2927dPost:5db2f4cc-d656-4d41-8114-5bcf83f4bbec">Re: wdyd?</a>:
[QUOTE]boohoo, just don't invite kids to your dinner parties, or don't serve caviar and blini at a dinner party with kids. adurr.
Posted by Cant_wait![/QUOTE]
 ^^^this<div>
</div><div>I would make a plate for the kid with small portions of a variety of things, if they were not old enough to serve themselves. If old enough to serve themselves, I would let them pick what they wanted within reason. </div>

MinM

I loved caviar from the first time I tried it. I wish it had been as early as five, or seven. It would not have been wasted.

That being said - At the most recent conference I attended, the lunch meal for adults was chix parm, veggies, and rice. They made a seperate lunch for the "children" (I use quotes because children up to the age of 18 were eating this meal) of mac n cheese and chicken fingers. Both are fried chicken and carbs. I think all of the children should have been served smaller verions of the adult meal. But that is just me.

hmonkey

i assume hostess knows this kid.  or she serves really awful caviar.

i don't think it's terrible to limit a kid's choices, and i just don't see that happening in a buffet -- there are other choices there.

TheDuckis

I'm with CW. What kind of Laurentian serves caviar at a party that kids are attending? If you plan the menu with consideration to the people actually attending, you don't have this problem.

Also, I'd probably give my kid a taste of caviar if it were available at a party.

hmonkey

just because there are separate but equal buffets, i don't see kids or adults restricting themselves to either one.  i would totally eat prime rib and chicken fingers.

NOLABridesmaid

This reminds me of my grandmother and kids wasting cans of soda. I think this drove her crazy at picnics. I just remember her being the soda police, and having fits that kids were taking 2 sips of soda and leaving the rest.

I was always like, "Mama Ruby that's mine, and I am coming back, promise."

MinM

And I love you for this, hmo.

::shoves a snack pac to the monkey::

This event wasn't a buffet lunch. However, there were seperate snack buffets. The adults got brownies and cookies and the kids got goldfish - a total rip off for them. I didn't understand this.

Cant_wait!

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_wedding-woes_wdyd?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:47Discussion:8f8590de-0315-49b2-a891-7d89afd2927dPost:53296977-d36d-4d0e-ba3a-bb049de53cce">Re: wdyd?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm with CW. What kind of Laurentian serves caviar at a party that kids are attending? If you plan the menu with consideration to the people actually attending, you don't have this problem. Also, I'd probably give my kid a taste of caviar if it were available at a party.
Posted by TheDuckis[/QUOTE]
ftr, I love your use of Laurentian. My favorite.

hmonkey

[QUOTE]ftr, I love your use of Laurentian. My favorite.
Posted by Cant_wait![/QUOTE]

i forgot to add this too!  gold star for td.  that heffa will never not be hilariously ridiculous.