from Ben's mom
Parents of 2-yr olds had best take their vitamins, do a little endurance training to prepare, and develop a thick skin.
Ben has recently decided that fruits and vegetables are not for him. His first favorites were smashed green beans, carrots, peas, avocados, and banana. Then we moved on to steamed carrots and peas, along with the others. Then he one-by-one began rejecting old favorites. The last to go were avocados, bananas, and blueberries in his oatmeal. In the last couple of weeks he has decided to fast ALL fruits and vegetables (with the exception of legumes). I've gotten creative with soup; he doesn't even realize that his noodle soup base is broccoli soup. So he is managing a portion or two a day. But....
We have started playing hardball recently. First, he has put on some weight and now has more food options as a result of his allergy treatment's success. So it is doubtful he is starving. Secondly, Ben is a poster child for James Dobson's work on The Strong-Willed Child. We are glad he isn't weak-willed; marks of leadership are springing up everywhere. But, as parents, we would be neglecting our duty not to do some training. And lastly, his doctor has suggested we put him on a supplement if we continue to lose the fruits and vegetables war, to keep his growth unchecked. They're expensive and he already has to take a natural anti-histimine and cod liver oil for those essential sun vitamins that Washingtonians don't get enough of.
But Ben is a stubborn guy. Yesterday, he had a half an avocado (guacamole really!) sandwich to eat before he could have bean soup. After an hour of battle, he ate one side of one quarter. Then he was done. So we tried it for dinner.... Several times. He has skipped several meals over the past couple of weeks but yesterday was the first day he skipped both lunch and dinner.
He ate several bowls of cereal for breakfast and now I'm dreading pulling out the sandwich for lunch again. Ah....
4 comments:
Wow, I don't envy you that battle. Stuart's my picky eater, but there are a few things he'll eat, so I don't have to fight as hard. I've never had the backbone to nix a complete meal; I take off my hat to you.
Have you tried smoothies? You call it a treat but get a dose of fruit into them. Pineapple and pears are favorites (read: only fruits they'll consistently eat) here. Lately, since they're able to open the fridge and get the fruit out themselves, they've liked it more.
Stuart adores broccoli, provided it has gravy on it. You might try that. Addie loves corn on the cob. Both will eat salad with Ranch dressing and bacon bits. Don't know if any of this is any help. He'll probably grow back into veggies and fruits if you keep it up... eventually.
- SJ
Stand your ground, mom, and remember you're bigger than he is, smarter than he is, and you've got right on your side. Easy to do justice, hard to do right.
Have you tried fruit jello? I don't mean the easy box kind that just add water... I mean the plain Knox gelatin so you can add your own fruit juice and own fruit pieces. Fresh pineapple and kiwi will not make jello, so beware. Grapes, bananas, raspberries work well.
Fruit popsicles might be treat enough. I just puree some softish fruit with a little yogurt and freeze.
Also, have you tried having him help fix it? In the process of helping D1 ingests quite a lot of vegetables she wouldn't otherwise eat. It also makes them more interesting at mealtine. We haven't reached the stubborn stage yet, so I don't know if it would help there, but it seems like it might, since the pressure is off or even tending the other way. ("Stop eating that! We need some for the salad!") It *is* more stressful for the head cook, who has to worry about knives and such.
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