'Sorry, Curtis Stone - but you need to spend dinner time with MY six-year-old.'

I’d like to introduce my six-year-old son to Curtis Stone.

I think they’d get on.

They could shoot the breeze about what surfers they liked and my son could be all star struck asking him about Manu.

They could talk about superheros and Pokemon and maybe Curtis Stone could cook him a meal (because after all he is an internationally renowned chef) of say fish pie or duck duck goose ravioli and my son could sit there with him and stare at the food blankly, boots-in-the-ground, stubborn-as-can-be refusing to eat it because it wasn’t one of his six foods he eats.

It could be enlightening for everyone: My son could meet a genuine celebrity chef from one of his favourite TV shows and Curtis Stone could put his broad theory that kids will eat anything when they are hungry enough to the test.

An eye opening experience? For sure.

The celebrity chef, and father of two young boys has declared that parents should let their kids go hungry more often.

The father of Hudson, 4, and Emerson, 1 has told The Herald Sun that parents are doing themselves no favours by pandering to picky eaters.

Stone suggests that if kids won’t eat what you serve them then parents should serve it up again at the next meal, make sure they don’t give them any snacks and then surely by then the little blighters will be hungry enough to eat the fish pie AND ask for seconds.

“Say you make a fish pie and the kids won’t eat it; I’d wrap it up, put it away and offer it again later when they’re hungry,” Stone said.

“I think the problem is too many parents worry about their kids being hungry that they let their children dictate what they eat.

“I don’t see the big deal in letting kids go hungry a few times. They’ll eat when they’re hungry.”

His words have prompted a debate across radio, TV and social media this morning about whether modern parents really are indulging their children too much.

In theory I agree with him.

Along with, it seems, every person over the age of 50.

When I was young we had to eat bread and lard and if we didn’t eat it all we had it breakfast lunch and tea until we did.

I mean it makes sense doesn’t it.

Tough love. Stop pandering. Eat what’s put in front of you. “We all survived and it didn’t harm us.” Parents should be in charge. No kid will starve themselves.

Ra ra ra ra ra.

The thing is Curtis Stone hasn’t met my son yet.

Curtis Stone hasn’t met the child with a rotation of five foods going.

• Apples
• Bananas
• White bread with lettuce, tomato and (sorry foodies) tomato sauce sandwiches.
• Soft-boiled eggs with soft white buttered ‘soldiers’ and absolutely none of those black bits.
• Pasta with melted cheese
• And baked beans.

And that’s it.

Curtis Stone hasn’t met the six-year-old with an iron will who will happily go without snacks and meals in order to avoid having to eat the hearty fish pie served up with love for him.

Curtis Stone hasn’t met the boy who will merrily go meal to meal without a mouthful until he gets something that falls within his narrow range of acceptable.

And Curtis Stone obviously hasn’t faced the side effect of a determined meal skipping six-year-old like mine who, after not eating the fish pie, ends up being not just a stubborn, fussy child but a hungry child too.

Back in La but can stop dreaming about cold coconut water on the beach with my 2 best mates! #dream #cocofresco #3nakedstones

A photo posted by Curtis Stone (@curtisstone) on Jan 17, 2016 at 9:02pm PST

These theories are great. But that’s what they are: Theories.

In fact, I am sure until my child hit his fussy stage I was spouting the same kinds of parenting advice to anyone who cared to ask my opinion but then reality came and hit me square in the face kind of like a dose of cold fish pie.

The reality that some kids just don’t like certain foods, just like some adults don’t like certain foods ( tuna mornay anyone?) and we can beg and plead and tempt and bribe and force them to eat these foods as much as we try but they still aren’t going to like them.

Sometimes in order to get through our day with a “hungry” six-year-old on-the-brink-of-a-breakdown from being starved by his parents you just cave in and give them the damn bowl of baked beans.

Some might call it indulgent parenting. Some might call it pandering. Some might call it a “rod for my back.”

I call it getting through the day.

I am confident my son will, in time, extend his palate if we keep offering him a wide range of foods – after all not many grown men eat just tomato sauce and lettuce sandwiches  – but in the meantime if Curtis Stone wants to put his theory into action I’m happy for him to come over and bunk down on our sofa for a few days and cook for us.

Because even if he can’t win my son over I’d happily to eat his fish pie any day.

Featured Image: Left – Getty, right – provided.