Ok, so yesterday's post was kind of a cautious tiptoe into the water's of being a Mom. No real chance for opinions to clash or really even to have an opinion. But today, I'm just throwing caution to the wind because I have somethin' I wanna talk about.
It's food. "This lady has lost it." I can hear you saying out into cyberspace. "What has food got to do with parenting??" Hold your horses, I'm getting there.
It seems like, in the past, food really didn't have anything to do with parenting. Your parents probably put food on the table and you either ate it or went hungry. The thought of Mom as a short order cook was in between laughable and downright disrespectful.
It's kind of a big deal to me, though, for one very big reason. I'm a picky eater. If there is something on my plate that I don't like, I cannot force it down my throat no matter how hard I try. I was assured that I would outgrow this, but let's just say, I was done growing a fair piece back and it is still a problem for me. Imagine then my dilemma when one of my own kids says, "Mom, I don't like this." Do I force them to eat it, knowing how that would affect me? Do I allow them not to eat it? Do I jump up and fix them something else? These may be easy answers for you, but often they become somewhat of a Waterloo to me.
Now add into the equation how health conscious some Moms are becoming. You almost never hear a Mom say, "Well, he ate his ketchup, that's a vegetable, right?" It's more like, "I can't get Susie to eat her kale. Whatever shall I do??" I just smile and nod and try to act like I struggle with that one too when the truth is I think kale is disgusting and would never even offer it as a choice.
So, we've gone through all these cycles at our house of me trying to clamp down on the eating and then abandoning ship on the idea later - see, I told you my propensity to forget about and change rules would come out all on it's own. At the moment, I just am making sure my kids eat. And I mean every day.
How about you?
hmmmm at this point I'm happy if my little people eat at all....I have one that eats hummus and veggies and salad and she's only 2 (so weird), one that lives on milk and bread, and another that is just random depending on his mood.... dinner time at our house is loud, usually a ton of whining and if I can get a few bites out them I'm happy. I've kind of come to the point that there is a whole lot more to raising my kids than making sure they eat organic and fighting with them about eating their chicken....I dont know. I do love food, and I do love to cook, so I try to involve them in trying different thing..."just try it" is kinda the thing we do...but not always ;) for me I try not to ever let fear be a motivating factor in any "rule" we set so...
ReplyDeleteI am so with you on fear not being a factor - not just about food, but about pretty much everything. Life is too short to be afraid. :)
ReplyDeleteYvonne
Lou is super picky. I fret constantly about her diet because if I let her, she would eat nothing but Hershey Kisses and Ritz Crackers all day. I worry that if I don't give her some sort of good foundation, she'll end up like me, struggling with her weight at 35 years old, or that she'll deal with it even earlier and struggle with her weight during her childhood-when everything is up for ridicule and criticism among peers.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I would NEVER force her to eat something she doesn't like, which means that despite my wishes that she would devour kale chips and tempeh, she doesn't. I offer her different foods, with a sliver of hope that she'll like them, but if she doesn't, then she doesn't have to eat it. I also would not let her go hungry, which means that often, I do make her something else. As she gets older, I'll probably let her make herself something.
So my philosophy is, keep exposing her to different tastes, accept her palate's limitations, celebrate small victories (like eating ANY vegetable or eating protien other than cheese or peanut butter), and don't let her go hungry. We're just doing the best we can! :)
Court
Your best is pretty darn good, Court. :) Maybe we should get together and start the "Hershey Kiss and Ritz cracker diet." I bet it would catch on...
ReplyDeleteYvonne
I count myself to be extremely blessed to have kiddos who will eat pretty much whatever is put on their plate. When we do come across something they aren't huge fans of, they are required to eat a "no thank you" helping, which is a portion large enough to give them the nutrients and small enough to gag down. If they don't eat what was served, they don't eat until the next meal, no snacks in between (I'm a little old school). What I really focus on when we have something they don't like is what we call "picky eater manners," try a little and if you don't like it, don't comment. I am always a little shocked when we have other children over and they sit at the table and tell me they don't like and won't eat what is prepared. My husband and I try to teach our children to always be thankful for food because someone took the time, effort and money to prepare a meal. I am strict when it comes to the food issue but don't think everyone has to do it my way. Interesting discussion!
ReplyDeleteBethany
You guys are funny! (and I know you both)
ReplyDeleteMy husband's work schedule has always been a late day one so we never have family meals together.. ever. Kinda sad and I hope that changes as my children grow and are able to eat later in the day etc...
For now all of my meals are kid meals, which means I could live in the kitchen all day cooking for three different ages and tastes. But if I am diligent I have most everything prepped earlier in the week and go off of that.
I do force the "one bite" rule and sometimes they discover that they actually like something new. Hooray!!! One day I'm sure they will eat everything out of my pantry/fridge and still say there isn't any food in the house. :)
Melissa
Bethany, I love the "no thank you" helping! I might have to try that one on myself - lol! I agree with you about being shocked by rudeness, if we have a food rule, that's the one. When are at another person's house, they eat or be quiet.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, yah, I've done the one bite rule too, but isn't so frustrating to spend all that time cooking to have your kid eat one bite?? But, atleast they're getting a taste and may like it later.
Yvonne
I don't think we've ever forced our son to eat large helpings of foods he doesn't like. But we have forced a bite or two of something new once in awhile...."how do you know you don't like it if you don't try it???" This reasoning doesn't work too well and usually involves some whining/crying. My parents never forced food on me. I hated green beans and they would usually put one bean on my plate hoping one day I might give it another try though. :) I guess we're pretty lucky with our son because he loves just about any fruit and he's pretty good with his veggies. I had never known a kid to eat broccoli before, but he really likes it! I feel like we eat the same foods all the time and we talk about trying new recipes but I guess we're just lazy and go with the old standbys....spaghetti, tacos, chicken, pork chops, etc. Quesodillas are a big hit with our son too and a quick, easy meal.
ReplyDelete