11 Reasons That Is Inedible
Have you met my son? Yes? Good.
Have you had a meal with him in attendance? Yes? Awesome.
Have you noticed he's a "picky" eater? Yes. Superb.
Have you realized I will alter/change/add/not add/break down and give him what he'll eat? Yes? Hmmm...
Have you noticed this happens time and time again and seems futile and catering? Yes? Ah...
Have you wondered why I don't have a more "assertive" approach to his eating habits? Yes? Don't worry, you're not the only one.
You didn't answer yes to any of these questions? Read on anyway! I'm sure I'm not alone in this blog subject!!
Here's a list of 11 reasons my son will NOT eat that.
1. It has sauce on it. No, we're not talking ketchup, we're talking tomato sauce, creamy sauce, broth type sauce, cheesy sauce, pesto sauce, mild/medium/hot sauce... basically, if it runs/flows/is a liquid when not frozen... then it's considered a sauce. He will not eat it if it has sauce on it. I do not argue that some sauces make me gag. I do my best to NOT make him eat the sauce because it makes my life easier and his happier.
2. The veggies are cooked. I'm not kidding. He hates cooked veggies. If it has been steamed/boiled/broiled/grilled/fried or anything of the sort he will. not. touch. it. He likes his veggies raw and crunchy.. without dip because, yup, dip = sauce. So you're telling me I can wash and cut up veggies and you'll eat them? I can cut out the last step? Done. Here you go. Enjoy. No arguments. Go ahead and pick out the peas, here have some nice crunchy snap peas instead.
3. There is black stuff on that ____. By black stuff we're talking about grill marks. Up until he was 3 years old I peeled.. yes PEELED his hot dogs after they were cooked. He would not eat them boiled, thought they were gross and nearly puked each time. Frying? HA! The mother of all black marks... it's dark brown to you and me, but it's black to him! So, we'd grill the dogs and I'd peel them after slicing them up... oh yes... ask my husband.. this HAPPENED... but know what? He ate something that resembled protein. Mmm hmm. Yup. Sure did.
4. It's mixed. Oh yea.. can't have it mixed.. or touching for that matter. Pasta is NOT allowed to touch veggies and veggies are NOT allowed to touch the toast... we bought army style dishes for this... little compartments on the tray so that food doesn't touch. Oh yes. It still happens today. Don't even get me started on why the hotdog can't be IN the bun!
5. The pasta isn't white. That LOVELY tri-colour fusilli that is awesome? I had to PICK OUT the green and orange ones. Otherwise he wouldn't eat it. Refused to touch it. Nope, pick it out or suffer his wrath!
6. Is it margarine? No, it's butter. Do not ever call the margarine, margarine. Call it butter. We called it butter for simplicity sake, as he got older (like 2 years) we started using the proper name. He FREAKED OUT... I'm not kidding, he pushed away from the table, jumped down from his chair, threw himself on the floor, kicked and screamed and hollered... we had NO idea what happened... asked him and from what I gathered (he didn't talk at the time... that's a different blog ENTIRELY) we had put "margarine" instead of "butter" on his toast... OH.MY.GOSH... it's the same damn thing in our house... Had to take it back and remake it... and when I say "remake it" that means: take it back to the counter, wait a minute and take it back telling him it was BUTTER...
7. The yogurt has stuff in it. You know the lovely fruit yogurt? Like Activia or things like that? Premixed, has bits of fruit in it... mmm.. I know, right?? Nope, not my kid. He loved the Activia Pear Yogurt... but NOT the bits of pear. I had to pick out the bits of pear before serving it to him, God help me if I didn't. He would spit it out and that was it for yogurt for a few weeks.
8. It has "skin". Apples and pears and peppers, oh my! I peeled everything... EV.ER.Y.THING. Did you know you can peel the skin off a pepper with the peeler you get at the Calgary Stampede that is part of the mandolin slicer kit? Oh yes. Takes it off relatively easily. Do you know how LONG it took me to figure that out? Holy crap... sooooo many fingertips later... That was a short phase when compared to other things.
9. It has meat in it. NOTE: This doesn't include hot dogs, for that is an acceptable form of meat. For those of you that would tell me to simply "hide" it in the rest of his food? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... please re-read #4. He gags, pukes, spits, cries, hits himself, hits you, throws things and won't eat for 2 days. Worth it to get him to eat that tablespoon of chicken? Nope. Not even a little bit.
10. You said he HAS to eat that. We learned very quickly by telling him to eat something because he "has" to... that's a bad idea. That means we are in for a very very very LOOOOONG supper. After a while, we simply said, look, it is exactly what you eat, either eat it or don't eat it, but you're going to sit there while the rest of us eat our supper. That worked... ohmygosh... it worked.
11. Texture. It's all about texture. Is it smooth but not like yogurt? Gag. Is the cheese creamy? Gag. Is the bread dense? Gag. Is the pasta anything but good ol' white pasta? Gag. Is the banana an hour overripe? Gag. Does it have to be chewed a lot? Gag. Is it solid and mushy, scrambled egg comes to mind, at the same time? Gag. Melted cheese? Gag.
As you've by now read through the 11 reasons, you're probably wondering why the hell I don't just put my foot down because "that would never fly in MY house" or "catering to him will cause SO many problems down the road". I get it. I do. Your kids eat everything you put in front of them and try everything at least once. That's awesome. I'm glad for you and your kid(s).
I have yelled, pleaded, ignored, demanded, reasoned, instructed, begged, cried, shouted, waited, appealed, bribed, and encouraged him to eat what the rest of us do at meal time. It's not. gonna. happen. I've made peace with that and we have compromised. Which, I think, is far more meaningful than just making him eat it - whatever IT is for that night.
THIS is how I've chosen to parent. Your approval is not required, but your acceptance is appreciated.
What does this blog stem from? I'm SO glad you asked. When I ask someone to NOT serve my son food, I will get his food ready, and I say it's because he won't eat that. NOTE... I didn't say "picky" I said he won't eat that. My statement does not invite advice, parenting or otherwise, from you on how to deal with a "picky eater". It's because I am trying to save myself from DAYS of back peddling and bridge building to get him back to where he is.
He will trying things now, he will eat a FEW more things than he did before, he is getting better. GETTING better... I am patient and willing to adhere to these rules because it makes everyone happy. I like happy... I'd rather be a happy mom with a kid eating plain noodles, than a miserable mom with a child sitting staring at a plate of noodles and Alfredo sauce.
Have you had a meal with him in attendance? Yes? Awesome.
Have you noticed he's a "picky" eater? Yes. Superb.
Have you realized I will alter/change/add/not add/break down and give him what he'll eat? Yes? Hmmm...
Have you noticed this happens time and time again and seems futile and catering? Yes? Ah...
Have you wondered why I don't have a more "assertive" approach to his eating habits? Yes? Don't worry, you're not the only one.
You didn't answer yes to any of these questions? Read on anyway! I'm sure I'm not alone in this blog subject!!
Here's a list of 11 reasons my son will NOT eat that.
1. It has sauce on it. No, we're not talking ketchup, we're talking tomato sauce, creamy sauce, broth type sauce, cheesy sauce, pesto sauce, mild/medium/hot sauce... basically, if it runs/flows/is a liquid when not frozen... then it's considered a sauce. He will not eat it if it has sauce on it. I do not argue that some sauces make me gag. I do my best to NOT make him eat the sauce because it makes my life easier and his happier.
2. The veggies are cooked. I'm not kidding. He hates cooked veggies. If it has been steamed/boiled/broiled/grilled/fried or anything of the sort he will. not. touch. it. He likes his veggies raw and crunchy.. without dip because, yup, dip = sauce. So you're telling me I can wash and cut up veggies and you'll eat them? I can cut out the last step? Done. Here you go. Enjoy. No arguments. Go ahead and pick out the peas, here have some nice crunchy snap peas instead.
3. There is black stuff on that ____. By black stuff we're talking about grill marks. Up until he was 3 years old I peeled.. yes PEELED his hot dogs after they were cooked. He would not eat them boiled, thought they were gross and nearly puked each time. Frying? HA! The mother of all black marks... it's dark brown to you and me, but it's black to him! So, we'd grill the dogs and I'd peel them after slicing them up... oh yes... ask my husband.. this HAPPENED... but know what? He ate something that resembled protein. Mmm hmm. Yup. Sure did.
4. It's mixed. Oh yea.. can't have it mixed.. or touching for that matter. Pasta is NOT allowed to touch veggies and veggies are NOT allowed to touch the toast... we bought army style dishes for this... little compartments on the tray so that food doesn't touch. Oh yes. It still happens today. Don't even get me started on why the hotdog can't be IN the bun!
5. The pasta isn't white. That LOVELY tri-colour fusilli that is awesome? I had to PICK OUT the green and orange ones. Otherwise he wouldn't eat it. Refused to touch it. Nope, pick it out or suffer his wrath!
6. Is it margarine? No, it's butter. Do not ever call the margarine, margarine. Call it butter. We called it butter for simplicity sake, as he got older (like 2 years) we started using the proper name. He FREAKED OUT... I'm not kidding, he pushed away from the table, jumped down from his chair, threw himself on the floor, kicked and screamed and hollered... we had NO idea what happened... asked him and from what I gathered (he didn't talk at the time... that's a different blog ENTIRELY) we had put "margarine" instead of "butter" on his toast... OH.MY.GOSH... it's the same damn thing in our house... Had to take it back and remake it... and when I say "remake it" that means: take it back to the counter, wait a minute and take it back telling him it was BUTTER...
7. The yogurt has stuff in it. You know the lovely fruit yogurt? Like Activia or things like that? Premixed, has bits of fruit in it... mmm.. I know, right?? Nope, not my kid. He loved the Activia Pear Yogurt... but NOT the bits of pear. I had to pick out the bits of pear before serving it to him, God help me if I didn't. He would spit it out and that was it for yogurt for a few weeks.
8. It has "skin". Apples and pears and peppers, oh my! I peeled everything... EV.ER.Y.THING. Did you know you can peel the skin off a pepper with the peeler you get at the Calgary Stampede that is part of the mandolin slicer kit? Oh yes. Takes it off relatively easily. Do you know how LONG it took me to figure that out? Holy crap... sooooo many fingertips later... That was a short phase when compared to other things.
9. It has meat in it. NOTE: This doesn't include hot dogs, for that is an acceptable form of meat. For those of you that would tell me to simply "hide" it in the rest of his food? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... please re-read #4. He gags, pukes, spits, cries, hits himself, hits you, throws things and won't eat for 2 days. Worth it to get him to eat that tablespoon of chicken? Nope. Not even a little bit.
10. You said he HAS to eat that. We learned very quickly by telling him to eat something because he "has" to... that's a bad idea. That means we are in for a very very very LOOOOONG supper. After a while, we simply said, look, it is exactly what you eat, either eat it or don't eat it, but you're going to sit there while the rest of us eat our supper. That worked... ohmygosh... it worked.
11. Texture. It's all about texture. Is it smooth but not like yogurt? Gag. Is the cheese creamy? Gag. Is the bread dense? Gag. Is the pasta anything but good ol' white pasta? Gag. Is the banana an hour overripe? Gag. Does it have to be chewed a lot? Gag. Is it solid and mushy, scrambled egg comes to mind, at the same time? Gag. Melted cheese? Gag.
 |
| Eating a hot dog in a bun... my how far we've come! |
As you've by now read through the 11 reasons, you're probably wondering why the hell I don't just put my foot down because "that would never fly in MY house" or "catering to him will cause SO many problems down the road". I get it. I do. Your kids eat everything you put in front of them and try everything at least once. That's awesome. I'm glad for you and your kid(s).
I have yelled, pleaded, ignored, demanded, reasoned, instructed, begged, cried, shouted, waited, appealed, bribed, and encouraged him to eat what the rest of us do at meal time. It's not. gonna. happen. I've made peace with that and we have compromised. Which, I think, is far more meaningful than just making him eat it - whatever IT is for that night.
THIS is how I've chosen to parent. Your approval is not required, but your acceptance is appreciated.
What does this blog stem from? I'm SO glad you asked. When I ask someone to NOT serve my son food, I will get his food ready, and I say it's because he won't eat that. NOTE... I didn't say "picky" I said he won't eat that. My statement does not invite advice, parenting or otherwise, from you on how to deal with a "picky eater". It's because I am trying to save myself from DAYS of back peddling and bridge building to get him back to where he is.
He will trying things now, he will eat a FEW more things than he did before, he is getting better. GETTING better... I am patient and willing to adhere to these rules because it makes everyone happy. I like happy... I'd rather be a happy mom with a kid eating plain noodles, than a miserable mom with a child sitting staring at a plate of noodles and Alfredo sauce.
Comments
Post a Comment