So Benjamin still refuses to eat most things. Except he puts a new twist on this pickiness by changes what he "loves" and "hates" from day to day. One day, he can't eat enough grapes. The next? I hate grapes! So now I have three pounds of grapes that he won't eat. It seems that one constant, however, is strawberries. He loves them. LOVES them. Unfortunately we don't live in Argentina, California, Chile, or wherever the heck they grow them in mid-January. So I have been scrounging for strawberries for the past few months and paying $5.00 for a pathetic-looking carton of mushy red things.
He takes the same thing to school for lunch everyday, too. After a year of torturing him by forcing him to take hot lunch (and no thanks to my mother who insisted on saying at every possible opportunity, "Those school lunches are TERRIBLE! BLECH! I can't believe you make him eat that stuff! I don't blame him for not eating it! BLECH!" - and sticking her tongue out for emphasis), I decided that it was really too expensive anyway and he now gets cold lunch. This is what it consists of: prepackaged PB&J (this is my fault; too lazy to make one each day), halved strawberries (won't eat them if sliced further), string cheese, milk, and (this is one of the few variances) a KitKat or cookie or whatever he wants for "dessert". Every once in a while he will get REALLY crazy and ask for a half of pita bread with one slice of fake cheese in it.
Sarah, on the other hand, will eat almost anything (unless Benjamin is there to let her know its BAD). Every meat product is called chicken and she seems happy with that pretense; she loves chicken. Her favorite veggie is broccoli. And, funnily enough, she hates strawberries. At least she eats everything else (its cheaper, if nothing else!).
The other day my mother was watching the kids for the day while I ran around and cleaned or something, and when I went to pick the kids up I brought Pizza Hut pizza and breadsticks for supper. I put everything on the table and starting making up plates for the kids. Benjamin came in and declared, "I don't like that pizza." So my mother springs into action: she grabs his plate and starts slicing cheese and getting out the crackers for him. I stand there, aghast, and ask what she is doing. She said, "He doesn't like that pizza." I said, "Yes, he does. He only doesn't like it because we're at your house." She informed me that was ridiculous, and didn't slow down for a second with the cheese-cutting and cracker-grabbing. (This is the woman who keeps oil on hand to make Benjamin homemade french fries for every meal that I am not present.) I informed him that if he did not eat his pizza he did not get anything else, including a snack later that night. He took a sideways glance at grandma and then shook his stubborn head. My mother did take away some of the cheese and crackers at this point, and make a half-hearted effort to get him to eat the pizza. He didn't. I told him he couldn't have a breadstick until he ate a bite of pizza. Didn't happen. About 8 minutes later (Benjamin had moved to the living room, sans plate) my mom tried to swipe him a breadstick. I asked who it was for, and she said, "You can't just starve him!" I informed her that the human body could live up to 14 days or so without food (she wasn't impressed) and that if he didn't eat tonight he would probably be okay in the morning. She throws the breadstick down and puts her hand over her mouth as she starts to cry (I am obviously the worst daughter and mommy that ever lived) and runs out of the room. Benjamin is in the other room whining to her, "I'm HUUUUUUNGRY." She cries harder.
As we were packing to leave my mother again tried to sneak him some pizza-alternative. I caught her eye before the handoff took place, and Benjamin again went into whining mode, "I'm HUUUUUUUUNGRY." Tears flow again, and my mother turns to this 6-year-old and says, "I'm sorry but your mommy won't let you eat."
So that's just great. I said, "He made his choice and he doesn't get to eat." My mother made sure I knew that that was ridiculous and he should be given options of food he likes.
We left.
Is it me, or am I up against a team of two on this food issue??
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I love your mother, and I hope she doesn't read this, but... I completely agree with you. Indulging his stubbornness is the worst thing for him. The meal you offer is the meal he has to choose from. I don't think a child should be forced to eat, but if he chooses not to eat what is offered (as long as it's a good meal and has some variety of choices), he chooses not to eat that meal. The experts also agree. Your mom has totally fallen into grandma mode. She can do that when you're not around, but she does have to respect you as mom!
I, too, love your mom...and I can picture exactly what she looked like for every comment she made, too. See, I agree completely with you, Mollie, and Krastal as well for that matter, but I think this issue runs deeper with Carolyn than the average grandmother.
You see, I have been a product of her homemade french fries, and I too have probably treated her superior food skills in a somewhat manipulative manner. So I don't blame Benjamin for trying to work the system. I miss those fries.
Post a Comment