Parenting Thought #8: Picky Eaters

One time I said that I had no picky eaters and I was sure it was because I was such a great mom.  Ha!  And then G turned like 4 and holy cow that boy is a stubborn little guy.  Until then he ate just about anything and then he decided, Nah, he didn't want to eat this or that anymore.  Carrots were great, but don't think about cooking them.  Soup is the worst.  He will say, I think I can I think I can and then ultimately decides nope he can't.  And he is fine with that.  Yes, he wants the dessert but he doesn't want to subject himself to whatever I am making him eat (and to set the record straight, I am not too bad of a cook so whatever it is is probably delicious ;) ).  But despite that I have stuck with my way of cooking.  We don't do kid food for dinner.  We do enchiladas, quiche, indian food, noodles with various sauces none of which are plain butter which is what they want.  I let my kids decide what they want for lunch and it's pb&J, chicken nuggets, and quesidillas most days and that's totally ok with me.  BUT the other day Gavin made my jaw drop.  i made him his sandwich and then starting making myself a chicken salad sandwich.  You know how kids always want what someone else has, well it doesn't usually work with food but this time it did! G asked for a bite of my sandwich.  I gladly gave it to him.  Then he asked for another and then he asked for the whole half.  I couldn't believe it.  Chicken Salad!  It may not seem that remarkable but for G this was a big step.  The next day guess what he asked for when i asked him what he wanted for lunch.  Chicken Salad Sandwich.  So maybe it is working!  By putting those different foods in front of my kids, they will eventually choose them.  They will see the light someday!  They will eventually eat all the delicious foods that I feel like is a waste of time to make somedays! Ok, and here is my secret hope someday, that my kids will say things like "my mom made the best...", or " I can't wait to get home to my mom's food!" or " I like my moms macaroni and cheese better than the box..." So for those of you with picky eaters.  Don't lose hope.  They say it takes introducing a food 7 times before a kid will try it and entertain the idea of liking it.  So keep on keeping on moms.  They will thank you someday.