‘I never, ever say no to my kids when they ask for food’

“The kitchen is always open, they can always have something to eat. I think anything else is dangerous,” the mum-of-two says in a viral video.

Rachel has unconventional rules when it comes to her kids and food.

The stay-at-home-mum says she never says no when her kids say they’re hungry.

“There will never be an instance where I say, ‘you can wait’, or ‘not right now’, or ‘the kitchen is closed’,” Rachel said in the viral video that’s been viewed almost 40,000 times.

Rachel, who posts parenting commentary to TikTok under the handle @rachonlife, says her rules around food come from sound logic: she always wants her kids to recognise and honour their hunger cues.

“As soon as I start restricting food, they’re going to start being deceitful about eating when they’re hungry,” she explained.

Although her oldest child is only two and a half, Rachel says her rule comes from personal experience.

“I know this, because I did this,” she said.

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@rachonlife

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Mum’s gentle parenting philosophy controversial

Rachel admitted that her parenting style isn’t for everyone, and some of her views might even be controversial.

Later in the video she said that if her kids come to her or her husband when they’ve done something wrong, they won’t be in trouble.

“We are going to tell our kids, if you tell us before we find out ourselves, you won’t be in trouble. There will be consequences, because natural consequences exist, but we’re not going to ground them.”

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She also said there wasn’t a question she wouldn’t answer. “I don’t care what the content is, what the topic is, what the timing is, does not matter.

“Any time my kids want to learn, I will reward that behaviour by answering their questions.”

RELATED: ‘I’m a gentle parent even when my kid screams in my face’

In addition to never saying no to hungry kids, Rachel said her kids could ask her any question and she'd answer. Photo: TikTok

TikTok responds to gentle parenting rules

Rachel had plenty of supporters in the comments.

“I generally am the same way except today when my kid asked for a snack literally five minutes before dinner was done. I told him he could wait,” one person said.

“I don’t see this as gentle parenting… just that this type of parenting should be classed as normal,” said another.

“We have all of those rules and my kids are well-rounded teens now,” a third person said.

One mum agreed with the sentiment, but not with having to cook for the kids round the clock.

“Instead of the kitchen is closed, I say ‘chef is off duty’, and offer snacks, leftovers, etc,” she said.

One person took issue with the food rules.

“I just can’t afford to buy unlimited snacks and food for my kids,” one mum said. “That’s why they don’t have free reign in the kitchen.”

“The rule in our house are ‘always’ foods are always a yes, and we have a pic of always foods,” Rachel replied.

Originally published as ‘I never, ever say no to my kids when they ask for food’