My children hated onions before any of them were old enough to order for themselves at McDonald’s. I am not certain that any one of them would have even known what an onion actually was had one fallen from the sky and hit them in the head! Then how in the world did they know with such confidence that they hated onions? I told them.
Now, I never had a family council where I spoke to the evil of onions. It was far less noticeable but far more convincing and consistent than that. It was not even something I intentionally addressed to my kids. I addressed it to the intercom at the drive-through. “I’ll have a number one with everything; NO onions.” That message wasn’t loud or exciting, but it was genuine and routine.
Your tastes will become you child’s diet. Kids notice, copy and exaggerate. I merely say, “Hold the onions”; my children hear, “Hate the onions.” Your children will develop a taste, appetite and diet from their earliest influences.
One’s tastes in hamburgers may be benign, but there are significant life choices that are not. What are the things that make up your family’s culture: the way and why of the things you do. What about your music, news sources, friends, church, school, dinner times and attitudes? Are you even aware of your family’s distinct flavor? What are you deliberately doing to determine your family’s flavor today?