It is often said that 'there is no such thing as a free lunch', though in the case of Little G and Small, this is not the case. Every week, two free lunches are set before them. One lunch is eaten, one is frequently not.
We have been informed by You must be mad that Small eats a wide (though currently vegetable-free) variety of foods at home; this is good to hear. Unfortunately, in the physical transference between his home and ours, something seems to have gone awry. Small regards all food placed on his tray as highly suspicious. Bits of egg sandwich ('He loves egg sandwiches') are handled cautiously, then deposited on the kitchen floor, which, by the end of lunchtime, resembles a war zone.
If L-Plate Grandad (in charge of Small's diet) actually manages to persuade him to try something, it is often spat out, or solemnly handed back. I gather that the current trendy idea is to place a wide variety of foods on the tray and let the baby 'choose' for him/herself, but we are pre-trend and were brought up in the era of eating what was put before you, so we are disinclined to go down this route.
The nursery suggests giving him his food, waiting 20 minutes, then removing him and trying again later, but we are not trained professionals and frankly, my dear, we don't have the patience. Small's eating habits are regarded with some satisfaction by Little G. 'I'm eating everything on my plate,' she observes smugly as the bits of food pile up around his highchair.
There are certain things that Small will always eat: yoghurt, fruit, and Weetabix ~ a current favourite, but we have been asked not to use this as a fallback solution, as the last time Small lunched and dined on Weetabix there were, not to put too fine a point on it, problems further down the line.
One day, when Small is older, and a rugby prop forward, I shall regale him with stories about the time he refused to eat his lunches. Oh, the fun we will have! Meanwhile, we struggle on, feeling inadequate and crossing our fingers that one day, Small will actually consume everything we give him and the cat won't stuff herself on his rejects.
At least one of them gets to enjoy a free lunch.
I feel your pain. Sometimes my girls only want spaghetti for dinner,just plain boiled spaghetti ,no sauce. Their mum says just give them want they want.
ReplyDeleteOh how I remember days like these... and how their likes and dislikes seem to change with the wind. You will look back one day and smile (if you haven't forgotten how!)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure we will. Onset of teeth might help ...
DeleteOh he does know how to push your buttons, doesn't he!! If it's any consolation, he'll not starve (it's rare, but autistic children can get to a position of food refusal and starving themselves) - and he's probably having a lovely time watching his granddad tempt him.
ReplyDeleteI hope this is the smug voice of a child development person - it's meant to be reassuring. And it is something I have to tell myself over and over with my picky granddaughter!
I really should read things through before I press ‘publish’ - it should read ‘isn’t the smug voice of a child development person’ ... many sorries!
DeleteNo problem! x
DeleteOh the joys of feeding children, eh! My three weren't too bad but one - when older - refused point blank to eat any breakfast at all...(He was a bit too large to put over my knee and he's made up for it since then...) Amusing as usual Carol. thank you. xx
ReplyDeleteAs always, you have given me a great chuckle, if not a free lunch! I'm sure he'll come round one of these days and he can't be hungry. If he were, he'd at least eat his favourite foods! Bon courage, Carol! I just love these posts!
ReplyDelete