The hours between drop off and pick up are a bit of a mysteryto me. Thing 1 doesn't always tell me what he does, what he is learning about or who his friends are. I hear from the teachers of course, but Thing 1 doesn't let me in on everything. Then randomly he will dump alot of information out at once. Over dinner last week, Thing 1 had the following to say to me:
Me: {Thing 1}, what did you have for lunch today?
T1: Nothing.
Me: You didn't have very much of the lunch that I packed. Did you eat the school lunch?
T1: No I didn't.
Me: You know it's okay. You can tell me if you eat the school's food. It's okay.
T1: No I didn't. Maybe a little. They had chips.
Me: Okay. You had chips for lunch? You weren't hungry for anything else? You ate a big breakfast. Were you not hungry today? Do you usually get hungry before lunch?
T1: (Looking off in space, not really paying attention) Yes! Very Very Hungry!!
Me: {Thing 1} Do you have a morning snack at school? (BTW-I know they do).
T1: Yes, we do.
Me: What did you have for your snack today?
T1: Your apple.
Me: That's good. What do the other kids bring for snack? (sorry--I couldn't resist)
T1: (Without hesitation) They bring junk food.
Me: They do? {Thing 1} what do they bring?
T1: Like...fruit snacks and......marshmallows. Hahahahaha! That was {So an So..}
Me: {Thing 1}, do you like your apple?
T1: Yes.
What do you think of this interaction? Questions? Concerns?
One Family's Search For a Better Meal
If he ate a big breakfast and had the apple for snack, then came home for another snack and supper, I would say no worries. We wish we could get them to eat as expected, but we can't. Just keep doing the best you can! He knows what good food is, and chooses it ( most of the time, anyway.) that's your goal--and he's bought into it. Well done. Just keep asking questions.
ReplyDeleteNo worries at all. Just keep him talking. I've found that packets of seaweed make very good school snacks and it gives my guy bragging rights with others. Send you a couple of messages at yahoo but might be caught in a spam filter?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, anything that is preceded: "Because it's OK if you did...you can tell me" is a TRAP! This is true in marriage, parenting, etc- not that it isn't OK for them to tell you, but obviously there will be consequences if the asker does not receive the answer they want.
ReplyDeleteI mean, he's what- three? Four? How many times a day, for how many days of his life, are you going to make what he eats an issue? If it were me, I would learn to lie just to avoid another barrage of questions. He may end up feeling paranoid with how insistent you are to know what he's putting in his mouth 24-7- and hey, it's your prerogative as a parent.
But since you're asking for feedback, I will tell you that I think you are setting your kid up to hide candy bar wrappers in old shoe boxes in his closet because he doesn't want to disappoint you.
Lay off a little bit...You can be an advocate for your children to eat healthy food, but sometimes when you try too hard to push them into a mold (even for good, solid reasons- like health) you end up getting the opposite reaction because, well, you'll end up coming off as obnoxious. I don't think I'd want to be asked about ANYTHING when I come home from a long day as much you've asked him about his food in the above conversation. By saying "It's OK if you did" and then asking 20 follow-up questions about what he ate suggests to him that his initial answer wasn't satisfactory to you and he's obviously trying to avoid the subject by "looking off into space"- this is learned behavior that is supposed to signal, "Jeez lady, drop the darn food thing already..."
Junk food has been formulated for the express purpose of being REALLY delicious and practically impossible to refuse. As long as he has access to it he is going to eat it. Nothing will change that until he is old enough to make his own decision not too but now at this age it tastes really good and he wants it. I think as long as at home he is getting healthy food and that stuff is limited to when he is at school that's the best you can hope for.
ReplyDeleteJulie S
sounds exhausting for your kid.
ReplyDelete