… food prepared for children was almost always tastier than the food cooked for oneself. It simply was. How many parents, then, found themselves hovering over their children’s plates, ready to swoop on any surplus or rejected morsel or, worse still, ready to sneak something off the plate while the child was looking in the other direction, or arguing with a brother or sister, or possibly having a tantrum. The closing of the eyes that went with a tantrum could be especially useful in this respect; when the child came to his or her senses, the quantity on the plate may have been significantly reduced, thus providing the child who noticed it with a sharp lesson in the consequences of bad behaviour. Make a fuss, and your food will be eaten by somebody else: a sound proposition that Mma Ramotswe believed could be applied with equal force to many other situations.
To the Land of Long Lost Friends, by Alexander McCall Smith, p. 137
Out of Babel 
As the parent of a toddler, I find that this method generally backfires.
“Where’s my taco?!?!?!” he asks / screams. (It was delicious. Worth it.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha ha ha true! Toddlers are barely prepared to understand direct and immediate consequences, let alone “natural consequences” that take a few minutes to notice.
On the plus side, at least by that point the parent is no longer suffering from low blood sugar is and is prepared to be much more patient. 😀
In my case, it was a challenge to get my kids to eat enough of their good healthy food, so I would never sneak it off their plates. But Precious is so relatable …
LikeLiked by 1 person
My husband has more success – he gets our toddler to eat broccoli by threatening to eat it himself. Eating broccoli > sharing, I guess.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And yes! Precious is very relatable here. (And elsewhere, as I recall. It’s been a while since I read these.)
LikeLiked by 1 person