Monday, September 27, 2010

A little humble soup

There's nothing like a 3-year-old to deflate your ego a little. I've been feeling like a bit of a domestic goddess lately. I'm going to school, the house is staying (reasonably) clean, I pack lunches for my family every night, the kids get bathed regularly, everyone has clean clothes and I make dinner the great majority of the time. My husband regularly praises my cooking, which is highly appreciated.

T is not always so appreciative. I made turkey meatball and dumpling soup for dinner last night. T tried a few bites and turned his nose up. Then he realized that he didn't get to have one of the leftover apple donuts for dessert if he didn't eat dinner. I listened to the drama unfold from the living room.

First, he tried bargaining.
T: "Daddy, can I have a sandwich instead?"
Ry: "No T, this is what we had for dinner."

Then the real rhetoric started.
T: "But, remember I tried it!"
Ry: "Yes, you did, but you have to eat more than that to have an apple donut."
T: "But, remember it didn't smell very good?"
Ry: "Let me smell. That's how it's supposed to smell."
T: "But, remember that it didn't taste very good?"
Ry: "It tastes good. Look, there's carrot and turkey and biscuit. It's all food that you like!"
T: "But, it doesn't taste very good!"
Ry: "It tastes good T."
T: "But, it's pretty yucky!"
Ry: "No one is making you eat it. You can just stop eating it."
T: "But, I want a donut!"
Ry: "Then you know what you have to do."
T: "But ...."

At that point, I took F upstairs to go to bed. When I returned downstairs, I learned that T had managed to force down some soup to earn his apple donut. I want my eat-anything toddler back. Zucchini used to be his favorite food, for goodness sake. The last time he ate it, he actually gagged. Sigh. At least he's keeping my ego in check.

4 comments:

Cathy said...

I still hear stories of Eric loving Lima beans so much they made him a birthday cake from them. And he now only eats a few select vegetables (lima beans are included though!) Our tastes change I guess. At least T can still be bribed!

LaLa said...

I've often heard that if you involve the kiddos in making dinner, they'll be much more inclined to eat - they're so proud of helping. Not that it's just about the food, as much as a power play, but it may help on this particular issue.

Jube said...

@ Lala - I've heard the same thing. I also heard that if kids are involved in growing the food they're more likely to eat it. Not so much with T ... he's too smart for that.

Mom said...

hey, you liked green onions when you were little.....

 
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