Kids and Food – Four Things I Believe

• That’s What’s For Dinner

Soon after she started solid foods, the little one ate what we ate. No special ‘kids meal’. We’ll separate a part of the dish for her before I add something spicy.  But if she doesn’t want it, tough luck.  That’s what’s for dinner. This exercise isn’t about eating or not eating, it’s about kids trying to preserve optionality for something fried. Shut it down.  There’s one choice, kid, unless you make something for yourself.  And in case you didn’t notice, you’re too short to reach anything.

• Be the Change

Don’t expect the tot to eat healthy while you pack doughnuts down your neck.  Kids see, kids learn.  That’s how they roll.  Make the good habits by being the good example.  And if it’s anything in a box or a can, try for better.  Yes, it’s more expensive to eat fresh, local, non-processed.  But we all just get one body.  So open the wallet and take care of it. Also, everyone’s got to keep moving — particularly in this house of foodies.  The gym and SoulCycle for the grownups, jazz dance, ballet and swimming for the little one.

• Train the Help

Good relationships with food are crafted by actually making and enjoying food.  Enlist the kid early. Between ages 2 and 5, that’s the investment period where the ‘help’ ain’t so helpful.  But around 6, it starts to turn, and by 7 you can really integrate them into productive prep.  Mine peels onions (she has goggles so she doesn’t cry), seeds and cuts cucumbers, mixes stuff, measures, whisks, etc.  Cooking develops planning and organizational skills, and provides tasty rewards.  Plus it’s good uninterrupted time together.

• Don’t be a Militant Loser

The tot needs some wiggle room.  So there is a time a place for greasy fries and a burger, dessert before dinner, and those cinnamon buns in the tube.  Just not all the time.  “That’s What’s For Dinner” has its exceptions too.  Maybe she’ll have something different if she’s not feeling well, or if her little friends are over.  I don’t feel compelled to impose my benevolent food dictatorship on others’ offspring.  And if she’s busy and happy with a little art project, I can peel my own onions. All of this is really just an exercise in balance.

These are four things we do, and it all seems to be working so far.  But who really knows.

p.s. –  too much with the sepia?