I recently read Karen le Billion’s book: “French Kids Eat Everything: How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules for Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters.” (Really I skimmed the book since it was due back at the library before I could finish it.) It was an eye opening book in two main ways: First, French kids have a 4:00 snack and that’s IT. NO other snacks. Second, french kids don’t get terribly dirty while eating because they aren’t allowed to feed themselves until they can do so in a clean dignified manner. Wow! I’m working on implementing the first, the second has caused me to make certain changes, but I will continue to let my children feed themselves, just because it frees me up. 
But no snacks, that’s revolutionary in America! The author admits that this was the hardest french habit to take one. She was sure that science had proven that snacks were a necessity for small stomachs, for happy behavior, for active kids. I had thought the same thing- but where does that “science” really come from? The fact is, many children get the bulk of their daily calories from nutrient weak, calorie dense processed foods. (Think goldfish, pretzels, fruit snacks.) Scotter has never been much of a snacker. Of course, he LOVES to snack if food is made available to him, but we don’t keep snack foods around the house, so he never sees them. Scotland is a fabulous eater. I can’t think of a single food he won’t eat. And he eats precisely what we eat. (Wait! I thought of one, lettuce or raw greens in general- something about not having molars.) Now maybe it has nothing to do with the fact that we rarely snack. Though I have definitely noticed that pickiness drops way down when he is hungry. 
I also loved a few other insights she gave. The french believe that a child can learn to like any food with enough exposure. If a child takes a bite of a new food and isn’t fond of it, they’ll say: “Ok, we’ll try it again later.” (As opposed to saying. “Joey doesn’t like beets.”)  I’ve seen this with Scotland too. He wasn’t a huge fan of baked sweet potatoes the first couple of times I gave them to him, but I kept giving them to him, and now he eats them. (It also helped that I served them later in fry form that he could eat with his fork.)
 She also suggested that when a child shows an dislike for a certain food you say, “That’s okay, you’ll like it when you’re an adult.” I liked this idea, as it appeals to children’s great desire to be “grown up.” 
She lists 10 rules, one of which really resonated with me, because I realize I’m so bad at it myself: Avoid emotional eating. Food is not a pacifier, a distraction, a toy, a bribe, a reward, or a substitute for discipline. Yikes. This is a hard one. I’ve definitely shoved raisins at Scotland to lengthen out a shopping trip. I feel justified in eating dessert after a long hard day. I eat when I’m stressed, and when I’m bored. Her point is that using food to mean something other then that which nourishes my body, creates a psychological state that leads to over-eating and obesity. Interestingly, is that she isn’t suggesting we strip all pleasure from our food. The french are know for quite the opposite, they practically worship food. She emphasizes that food should be reserved for the dinner table where it can be properly enjoyed and appreciated in a healthy, social way. 
I think I would have had a hard time believing this book if I hadn’t visited France two years ago and observed this myself. One time as Tom and I sat waiting for a train, stuffing our faces with croissants I had this realization that NO one else was eating, and not only that I had never seen anyone eating while walking down the sidewalk, waiting for the train, etc. We spent one of the most memorable days of our trip visiting the french market, cooking for three hours and then eating for three hours, while listening to world music, talking, laughing, and relaxing in typical french manner with a couple from San Diego and our French B&B owner and two of his buddies. It was like nothing I have ever experienced. And yet, that is typical of the French.
What’s your take on this?  
In case you’re wondering here are the 10 rules:

1. Parents are in charge of food education
2. Avoid Emotional eating- no food rewards, bribes,
3. Parents schedule meals and menus. Kids eat what adults eat.
4. Eat family meals together- no distractions
5. Eat your veggies- serve a variety
6. You don’t have to like it, but you do have to taste it
7. No snacking!!!
8. Slow food is happy food
9. Eat mostly real food
10 Remember eating is joyful! Relax.