Bonn - "Clean your plate" might be a well-intentioned command, but it is harmful to many children.
It's much more important that children learn flexible control of their eating habits and maintain a healthy sense of when they are hungry and when they are full, according to Germany's consumer information service in Bonn.
For these reasons parents should tell their children, "Take only as much as you would like to eat." This rule is especially important when food is plentiful and the prevailing lifestyle is short on activity.