Calling all moms--or rule makers.
Let us discuss.
It is a rule in our home that we eat only in the kitchen.
However...this rule is being practiced in theory alone. That is bad.
The problem: I have tried everything to get Noelle to eat healthy stuff. I do not give up! If she doesn't like something raw, I try it cooked, cut differently, dipped in sauces ect...For some reason she won't eat MUCH (key word much) in her highchair or booster seat. So it gets put in a plastic bag and she walks around the house happily eating and spilling it everywhere.
What is more important. To eat--or to be clean?
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
3 comments:
Here's my philisophy:
I think children should think of the kitchen as the food area of the house. There's those special fun times that you get to eat popcorn in the front room or ice cream in the homemade fort. But, I think that eating together in the kitchen lends itself well to future dinners and subsequent conversations together as a family.
Do I follow this? No. Not yet. Dave and I still eat on the couch half the time and Lincoln likes to beg for food no matter where we're eating. I've been trying more recently to make the distinction more clear, but we're definately a work in progress.
Coming from the nutrition perspective, it's important to just be relaxed. This helps the child to not feel burdened by something that should be enjoyable. Sure, you're going to have to eventually set the table eating standard and enforce it but that might work better when you can explain the situation more to her (and when she understands more). As for now, if she's getting adequate intake from her baggy foods and is eating the foods that you want her to have then just go with that (and maybe see if she'll sit on a blanket or a rug with the bag). Keep giving her what she'll eat in her seat too. You just want to make sure the food battles don't turn into a control assertion on her behalf in the manner of not eating at all. When you're ready to transition more to the seat try to limit her snacking away from her seat so that she links to two together. That way she'll be hungry and ready to eat and will hopefully submit to eating in her chair. That might mean being strict and not giving her anything when she's not in the chair or setting specific times when she'll get a snack or stopping the baggy foods a certain amount of time prior to a meal time.
I hope it all works out! Eliza has been in a little eating funk lately. She's always been a really good and easy eater, but this past week she's really cut her intake. I'm sure she's still getting adequate food but I worry that she might be getting a little finicky about what she eats. I really don't want her to fall into the rut of eating only 2 or 3 things. I guess I need to pay attention to how many times in a row I am feeding her a particular meal. With Brian gone, we eat off one recipe for way too long. She's probably just sick of eating the same things. Let's hope anyway!
Yeah, that eat-only-in-the-kitchen rule...my parents were super strict about it (and still are!) and we hated it. Of course as a parent I see the benefits but if Isabelle will eat something healthy then she can have it wherever she wants (just not in the bedroom since I don't want to find apple cores under the bed a month later). This is just my way of bribing her to eat well.
And we totally miss you!! Hope you are loving it out there :)
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