I just bribed my son to eat Macaroni and Cheese. Does anyone else see a problem with that? Yesterday, Jo had her 15 month appointment and she only weighed 18.5 lbs. That's at the 1.5ish percentile. I keep telling myself that my kids are just smaller; that things will balance out, but I still worry. They actually eat pretty good most of the time, especially Jo. A lot of the time she eats more than Kaden does. She just doesn't weigh anything.
So ignoring common sense and putting my anxiety into action I've been working overtime to get them to eat better today. Bigger meals, more veggies all that stuff. Which brings me to the Mac'n Cheese. I didn't have much time for dinner so we just had Macaroni and Cheese from a box, but I blended up broccoli and threw it in to try and make it healthier. Jo didn't mind, but Kaden's familiar with this trick and refused to eat anything. Normally I just say okay, but nothing else the rest of the night. But what did I do tonight? I pull out the Oreo cookies. Kaden freaked out when Jo and I got one for finishing our dinner and he did not. He tried everything, even offered to eat carrots instead. In retrospect the carrots probably had more nutrients then the minimal amount of broccoli on his plate, but lets face it, by this point it was not about eating a good meal. In the end he earned his cookie, but I am a mess.
I was taught not to use food as a punishment or a reward and tonight I'm pretty sure I did both. What am I supposed to do?
I'm sure I'm overreacting. The longer I'm a mom the more I learn that things usually workout fine despite my mistakes. I just hate waiting for things to work out when I don't know how to fix them.
4 comments:
Actually... a very successful nutritionist that I relgiously listen to talks about getting your kids to eat...he says that when you have a picky kid who won't eat something, you obviously don't force it. Giving a treat for finishing isn't a bad thing, as long as they ate. He also says if they choose not to eat what you make for dinner then they go hungry. If they decide later on that they are hungry, you offer them te dinner they refused. If they choose not to eat it, they go to bed hungry. He says if you stay strong then they will realize you mean business and will at least try to eat the dinners you prepare... it may take at most a couple of weeks...
Keep on truckin' is all a can tell you! Way to stick to your guns. Just think-when he is a teenager you will laugh at this as he empties your fridge:)
You don't know me but I have a sister and a brother-in-law named Ashley and Kimball. They also have a little boy named Kaden with C instead of a K. Crazy huh! Mac and Cheese is a good way to get them to eat broccoli. Dang, would've worked on me. My favorite food from a box. HAHA!
I remember a food nutrition class in college where we were told not to use food as bribery or a reward--even to the point of putting the dessert out with the main dish so children could see it's not the reward for finishing the meal (or something like that??). I learned to have a problem with a lot of "food rules" people told me, even in a nutrition class.
It sounds like you are a terrific mom, at least holding firm to the rules you laid out and providing consequences they should expect. I need to be more consistent like that. But I often use dessert as the reward for eating the vegetables, and it means a lot of veggies get eaten around here!
I know what you mean about the frustration of getting things to work out but not knowing how to fix them. I feel that way a LOT!
Post a Comment