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Eat This
I had a lot of ideals about child-rearing -- before I had a child. Amelia was never going to watch TV. She wasn't going to know who Elmo or Dora were. (I'm still holding the line on the Disney Princesses.) And she wasn't going to be frequenting the free cookie bin at the grocery store. Sugar was out.
Well, let's just say that the last time we were grocery shopping together, Amelia got not one, but two cookies. And she's been known to scarf down a couple of Doublestuff Oreos. And Locopops. And ice cream. And cupcakes.
But there is one ideal that I have lived up to. She eats what we eat.
There are no separate meals of macaroni and cheese at our house. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I bought one of those boxed macaroni and cheese mixes. If I don't eat the stuff, neither does she, so that rules out neon-orange powdered cheese.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying she actually eats everything we put on her plate. Many things have been rejected. "That's ew," she use to say as she handed me a chewed up glob. Now, her vocabulary has improved, and she regularly tells me, "I don't like that." I try not to take it personally.
This year, we started buying our vegetables directly from a farm as part of a cooperative. That means we end up with lots of peppery greens and other strange vegetables that even the most adventuresome kids won't eat. Still, I dutifully put it in front of her.
The other night, I brought out swiss chard, sauteed with olive oil and garlic. I expected to scrape it into the trash can after dinner, but I figured I'd at least give it a try.
We had gone to visit the farm where our vegetables are grown a few weeks before, and she had been talking about the dog she saw there ever since. So I told her, "The farmer and his dog grew that for us. They'll be very sad if you don't eat it."
And do you know what happened then? My 2-year-old ate her greens, every last bite. I was stunned. I couldn't help feeling a little smug. I may have left most of my ideals along the side of Parenthood Road. But I've raised a kid who will eat swiss chard, and who has never had a Chicken McNugget (Well, maybe once.)
Did any of you have ideals about what you would or wouldn't feed your kids? Have you lived up to them?
Every Wednesday, a rotating group of moms write about what they're eating and what their kids are eating.
Check out our other daily themes at TriangleMom2Mom:
MONDAY: Meet!
TUESDAY: Ask!
WEDNESDAY: Eat!
THURSDAY: Play!
FRIDAY: Out!
WEEKEND: Relax!
Submitted by kcollins on May. 21, 2008, 12:00 am
I had a lot of ideals about child-rearing -- before I had a child. Amelia was never going to watch TV. She wasn't going to know who Elmo or Dora were. (I'm still holding the line on the Disney Princesses.) And she wasn't going to be frequenting the free cookie bin at the grocery store. Sugar was out.
Well, let's just say that the last time we were grocery shopping together, Amelia got not one, but two cookies. And she's been known to scarf down a couple of Doublestuff Oreos. And Locopops. And ice cream. And cupcakes.
But there is one ideal that I have lived up to. She eats what we eat.
There are no separate meals of macaroni and cheese at our house. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I bought one of those boxed macaroni and cheese mixes. If I don't eat the stuff, neither does she, so that rules out neon-orange powdered cheese.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying she actually eats everything we put on her plate. Many things have been rejected. "That's ew," she use to say as she handed me a chewed up glob. Now, her vocabulary has improved, and she regularly tells me, "I don't like that." I try not to take it personally.
This year, we started buying our vegetables directly from a farm as part of a cooperative. That means we end up with lots of peppery greens and other strange vegetables that even the most adventuresome kids won't eat. Still, I dutifully put it in front of her.
The other night, I brought out swiss chard, sauteed with olive oil and garlic. I expected to scrape it into the trash can after dinner, but I figured I'd at least give it a try.
We had gone to visit the farm where our vegetables are grown a few weeks before, and she had been talking about the dog she saw there ever since. So I told her, "The farmer and his dog grew that for us. They'll be very sad if you don't eat it."
And do you know what happened then? My 2-year-old ate her greens, every last bite. I was stunned. I couldn't help feeling a little smug. I may have left most of my ideals along the side of Parenthood Road. But I've raised a kid who will eat swiss chard, and who has never had a Chicken McNugget (Well, maybe once.)
Did any of you have ideals about what you would or wouldn't feed your kids? Have you lived up to them?
Every Wednesday, a rotating group of moms write about what they're eating and what their kids are eating.
Check out our other daily themes at TriangleMom2Mom:
MONDAY: Meet!
TUESDAY: Ask!
WEDNESDAY: Eat!
THURSDAY: Play!
FRIDAY: Out!
WEEKEND: Relax!
Comments
I've turned out to be a lot stricter than I thought I'd be in some ways, and looser in others. Like you, I discourage most character merchandise, especially the princesses. On the other hand, the prospect of Uniqua undies got my daughter to potty train.
On the food front, I'm blessed with a child who will try anything at least once. She's the kind of kid that the "pick out a new veggie at the store" game was made for. She does eat boxed mac & cheese (because I like it), and while she's never had an actual McNugget, she has eaten her share of Chick-Fil-A. But she also eats a variety of fruits and veggies every day and has no idea what to do with a lollipop. And yeah, she eats what we eat. I'm a mom, not a chef.
I'll admit to the boxed mac and cheese because I do love it too (with ketchup - try it - it's really good). And my strictness has waned over the last three years, but, except for what she gets at daycare, she eats limited processed foods and sugars at home.
I tried discouraging character merchandise, but she hears about it from her friends at school all the time so I've let it go a little bit.