starting 10:16 a.m.
i talk a lot about food. it's important. it's very likely one of the most important things in my life. and i've noticed that it's the one main thing that i don't mind spending excess money on. it always seems worth it. (things i don't like to spend money on include: clothing, haircuts, entertainment, the internets, "things"... pretty much anything that's not food.)
so, food is important to me. plus it's really enjoyable. we eat all manner of foods at our house, even more so now that we're receiving veggies from the csa where the deal is "you get what you get!"
one of my co-workers asked me about how jake was doing with all the vegetables, and the truth is, he is a great eater! he started out not being totally keen on all the salads we've had lately, but then we discovered the garlic parmesan cesar dressing in the fridge. then we ran out of that. erin eased us into olive oil and rice vinegar for dressing. jake loves it! he really enjoyed the sauteed zucchini we had last week. he's getting into the idea of tofu with soy sauce. part of it is the idea that THIS IS WHAT THERE IS TO EAT. if you don't want it, or don't like it, at least try it. if you still don't want it or don't like it, you can remain hungry. plus, all this food is normal in our house. we're not a household of twinkies and sugar coated cereal (whose idea was that invention?!?). the one thing we have in our house that's not "good" for us is probably the home-made popsicles from kool aid (made with splenda). for snacks there are strawberries or unsalted peanuts or an apple. it's just the way it is.
sharon talked yesterday about how picky kids result from picky and/or lenient parents. i've heard tales of parents who routinely make two meals: "adult" food for the parents, and either macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets for the kids. the reasoning behind that is sort of a twisted "they won't like what we're having, so why offer it" kind of thing... i think. but how do you think they might start to like something, if they've never seen it on their plates? jake claims to not like the peels on an apple, but one evening erin cut one up for him and told him that if he didn't want the peel, he could eat around it. he ate the peel, and we didn't make a big deal about it at all.
so, what's the big deal about food? it's wonderful wonderful! that's the only big deal i see.
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4 comments:
I like your tactics with Jake. ( and I think you're right... I use to be a BIG TIME picky eater )
thanks! update as of last night: he loves beets. he says they taste like rice and beans. and he suggested that if he didn't finish his dinner and says he's hungry later, all he should be allowed to eat is the rest of his dinner. HE suggested that!
I can't help but comment about the picky eater thing. I was a picky eater, and I am telling you, NOTHING would make me eat something that I didn't want to. My parents tried everything: ignoring me, punishing me, making me sit at the table until I finished my dinner, serving me the same food for several meals until it was gone. I preferred to go hungry than eat "yucky" stuff. I think I went hungry a lot.
As an adult, I gradually understood that my problem with most foods was texture. I couldn't eat lettuce because it felt like I was gagging, I couldn't stand oranges or berries because after you got that nice squirt of juice, you're left with a skin in your throat that makes me want to gag. I have slowly trained myself to eat most foods, but I still can't stand "slippery" foods like avocado or mango. Oranges are still iffy.
Now, I have two children: my daughter who will cheerfully try almost everything, and my son who refuses to try almost everything. I tried making him eat what we were having, or not eat. However, when he was 18 months old, we were at the pediatrician's because he was UNDERWEIGHT and NOT GAINING. She said to give him as much as he wanted of anything remotely nutritious. He ended up eating jars of baby food until he was at least 2 years old.
Now that he's almost five, we have a few compromises. I try to make sure there is some part of every meal that he LIKES (usually the potatoes or the rice.) I try to make sure to prepare foods he likes at least several nights a week. On nights when I KNOW he won't like what we're having, he can have some leftovers of stuff he likes. As a last resort, he can always have cheese and crackers.
And yes, sometimes he gets chicken nuggets, because he's got to get his protein from something!
correne -
there definitely are people out there like you and your son who are picky for a health or sensitivity reason. however, a LOT of people are picky simply because they can afford to be. there is such an abundance of food options in our [very rich] society that one need not even try to eat something they don't like.
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