What to do with the non-eaters
Only two posts in July? Pitiful. Do I have any readers left or have you all given me the virtual finger and are off reading someone who actually updates regularly, like Paper Napkin or Finslippy? Remember that line from the movie A Christmas Story…“every family has a kid who won’t eat.” Mia is that kid at our house. I expected a certain amount of pickiness during the toddler years but Mia is six, you’d think she would have outgrown it by now. But no. She remains underfed and (I worry) undernourished. We’ve tried all sorts of things to get her to eat including the “when she gets hungry enough, she’ll eat it” approach. The problem is, Mia is so stubborn, she will go hungry before she’ll give in and eat something she doesn’t like. I’ve been cuddled up with her reading bedtime stories and heard her tummy growling because she wouldn’t eat what I fixed for dinner. The thoughts of my children going hungry turn me into a great big weepy mess, so she usually wins and gets to eat what she wanted in the first place. I know, I’m weak. But she’s hungry! She can’t be hungry! Here is a complete list of what she’ll eat. The tolerance for some items on this list varies by her mood, but I can usually count on these: - strawberries That’s pretty much it. I’m sure you can see my dilemma. So how do I get this child to eat? She takes vitamins so I hope she’s not undernourished, but she is a bit on the skinny side. If for no other reason, she needs to eat because her pants keep slipping down and the little white girl, gansta look is frowned upon in first grade. Dan reminds me that Amy went through this too and she suddenly started eating everything a few years ago. I’m hoping Mia does the same, but I’m not counting on it. She’s far more stubborn than Amy. We are leaving for Yellowstone for a family reunion on Monday so my sister and her kids have come from California and are staying with us this week. Kind of the party before the party type of thing. With them, my other sister who lives here, and my sister-in-law who arrived yesterday, there are ten of us in the house. We’re constantly out of hot water, there are piles of towels and bedding all over the place, and the kitchen is always messy, but it’s been fun. We stay up too late playing silly games and giggling like teenagers. I haven’t been this sleep-deprived since college. Look at this carrot I pulled out of the garden yesterday. Cool, eh? Think Mia will eat it? Not a chance.
- toast or bread w/margarine (woe if you suggest real butter!)
- cold cereal
- grapes
- mashed potatoes
- pizza
-chicken nuggets
-granola bars
-popcorn
-corn on the cob
-hot dogs
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