This past weekend I decided that this is just ridiculous and it needed to stop. My goal is to make more kid friendly meals and maybe only have one night of making her something separate. This week it will be Friday. I'm just making us fried rice with shrimp and Gibbie hates rice so she'll get her sandwich.
I've definitely let it become a habit for too long. Tonight we had tacos and black beans. Gibbie loves beans and has always eaten a deconstructed taco with us. She did end up eating some of it but not before asking for a sandwich twice. Proof enough for me that I need to break this habit immediately.
I met a mom through MOPS two years ago who basically said she wasn't going to have the battle. She put dinner in front of her husband and three sons and they could decide if they were going to eat. If they didn't eat what she put in front of them then they just didn't eat. Upon hearing this I thought it was a great idea but never stuck with it. The Hubs is pickier than Gibbie so there'd be a lot of nights of me eating alone. Best friend J once said that she had heard that anyone needs three bites to tell if they like something. The first bite was to see if their taste buds liked it, the second to see if their stomach liked it, and the third to see if the two agreed.
My Facebook friends gave me a wide variety of answers for this one. One friend said she makes the kids something to eat at 4:30pm and then have dinner with her husband later. Sometimes it's the same meal, sometimes she does a more grown up recipe. I actually did consider that at one point but I don't think it really fits us. Another mom said 95% of the time the kids eat what her and her husband eats. She even has a rule that if one of the kids says they don't like whatever it is then he has to eat a bite of whatever it is for each year. (Example: Kid is 6 years old, kid says he doesn't like green beans, kid has to eat 6 bites of green beans.) She goes one step further and doesn't let the kid have an after dinner treat unless he eats it all. My lovely Best friend M plainly says, "Eat or go to bed hungry...kids are not gonna starve in one evening."
I am totally leaning more towards how Best friend M feels about it. I think The Hubs is feeling a bit more lenient though. I even tried for a while to implement a sort of three bite rule. Three bites, if you don't like it, I'll make you a sandwich. Truth be told, Gibbie can handle a meal she isn't thrilled about it. The Hubs and I do it on occasion when a meal doesn't come out as well as I had hoped for it. So why should I, as the main cook of the house, have to do extra work? I am starting to think that the point of this topic is to talk myself into it. OK, I can do this.
Here's a cute picture to show you why I have a hard time not giving in:
Finally, if there's any topic suggestions you'd like to know my humble opinion (as well as my Facebook friends) leave a comment and let me know.
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