Parents are exhausted. Parents are stressed. Parents are overwhelmed. I think sometimes when we encounter an obstacle, rather than face it, we just go around it. I find myself doing this all the time with my second child. And I think I’m cheating him out of a lot.
I mentioned before that I “gave up” reading to him because he wouldn’t sit still. But after reading a book on the importance of reading, I put my mind to really trying and low and behold, it turns out the kid does like books. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had continued to label him as “too active for reading.” I also find myself giving up on healthy foods when they’re rejected by my youngest. I can usually bribe my oldest or convince him that the vitamins in the food are so good, it’s worth eating even if you don’t like it. But those tricks don’t work on a one year old and when I see him continually throwing everything green off his high chair, I’m tempted to stop trying to feed him green foods.
But every once in a while, I’m amazed at how a little creativity can completely change a situation. In our house, we eat apples all the time. If someone doesn’t feel like an apple, we smother it in peanut butter and suddenly, it’s irresistible. But we aren’t giving the baby nuts, so I had to try something else to get him to enjoy apples with us. I tried cutting them into bite size pieces, putting them in a bowl with a touch of water and covering them with a lid, microwaving for 20-30 seconds until they are soft, pouring off the water, and sprinkling with cinnamon. He loves them. And my oldest does too. Hardly any effort and now I can always get my kids to eat apples. The best part? I think my youngest has gotten over his dislike of apples with this technique because I can hand him a slice of apple and he’ll actually eat it instead of biting it into pieces and throwing them to the dog.
I won’t always be able to do it, but I’d really like to try harder, or think more creatively, when I encounter obstacles with my children. No more giving up.
Posted by Lisa H on February 17, 2009 at 10:41 am
Nice post. Good thoughts, well said. Thanks!
Posted by Hanna on February 17, 2009 at 8:25 pm
I often feel that way with Bri. Being my second, she ends up following whatever schedule we have set for her sister. The other pitfall is setting her against her sister’s rather unique pattern of development. So when Elly was showing reading comprehension before age 1, I was frusterated when Bri didn’t too. However, I continued to read to her alongside her sister, and the cues I was looking for popped up all of a sudden. She had an interest and was compehending! I have learned that they both will get to where I want to see them just in different ways and different time frames.
Thanks for the apple trick. I may try it tomorrow. Bri likes to chew them and spit out the bits. I think she doesn’t have enough of her molars out. I just picked up a bag of fuji’s for 99cents. Yay for new uses!
Posted by Heather on March 15, 2009 at 9:34 pm
If I need to get my kids to eat something I give them toothpicks. They will eat anything off of a toothpick!