I was strict about it. Taste everything and if you don't eat what you are served you go hungry. But I was feeding a broad huge spectrum of foods to her very young.
Kids will not starve themselves to death and it's WASTEFUL in this economy for a kid to be turning up their noses at perfectly good nutritious food.
I shudder everytime I see that commercial with the kid in the grocery cart - "I don't LIKE BROCCOLI." And then the mother totally caves and buys Pediasure because the kid will only eat sugar?
I realise you haven't gone that far, but it can go that far. Kids should learn to eat and appreciate the food they are provided with. It comes from hard earned money and well intentioned people. Waste is wrong. Not appreciating someone's EFFORTS at feeding them is wrong. Even if it isn't wonderful, the person serving it, earning the money and providing it free to them should be respected.
Too many kids get a totally free ride, manipulating the adults around them into catering to their limited palate and preferences for things not beneficial. They should respect you, or anyone, who provides them food, enough to eat most of what is offered. People worked for that meal, people MADE it FOR them.
Sure, most people broaden their palates as they age, but they would have done better to be taught a broad palate earlier on. A more varied diet provides better nutrition.
You enjoy MORE meals, and more foods and get more joy out of eating now than before. Letting a child limit him/herself is also limiting potential enjoyment.
Letting a child define it's life, in disrespect of what is provided, and without the ability and interest in trying new foods is allowing the inexperienced to limit their lives.
Some kids allowed to avoid nutritious foods NEVER develop a palate for vegetables, for whole grains, for foods lower in sodium and sugar.
I didn't even LET my daughter have sugar until she was three, no candy, no soda, but birthday cake - once a year. After three, though she would eat and enjoy sweets, she never went over board. To this day she's not a big sweet eater. A bit is enough. For us both.
What you teach now may well affect the child for it's entire life. Some people don't grow up and change to a broader palate.
Unfortunately those kids don't come with warning labels identifying them. So it's up to you.