Its time for the Sunday Parenting Party. Please link up your parenting posts and check out some that are already linked up - don't forget everyone loves comments. Please don't link kids activity posts, they can be linked to Kids Coop instead. This week I'm linking the following:
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(Goblin is 41 months)
(Goblin is 41 months)
About 4 months ago Goblin came home from nursery with a new habit, not eating his crusts. He picks up quite a lot of things from the other kids at nursery. Although some of the stuff he picks up is stuff I'd rather he didn't do - like pretending everything is a gun - by and large I like the fact he is learning from a broad selection of people, because that means he is going to become a more rounded person. I hope in time he'll learn to be more discerning about the things he decides to copy.
When presented with this new "issue" Hublet and I had to make a decision about whether we protested. After all he spent the last three years happily eating the entire sandwich, and now he's suddenly decided he has an issue with the crusts!
But we decided not to challenge him on it.
We try not to make too much fuss about things that are food related. I don't ever want food to be a battle. We are very lucky that Goblin eats well and will happily eat most things most of the time. So if he has decided that for now he isn't eating crusts, so be it.
Another reason I don't insist he finishes the whole thing is that I get it. If it was socially acceptable for adults to only eat the inside bit of the sandwich I'd probably do it to. Let's face it that is the nicest bit. Crusts are the tedious bit with no filling that you feel obliged to eat (in my opinion).
I am of course concerned about the issue of waste. I don't want to teach Goblin that its OK to waste food. But often if he is eating a sandwich and leaves the crusts on the plate he will later forget that he "isn't eating the crusts" and will stuff then in too. If I'd made a fuss about it he would probably not do that, firstly because he can be as stubborn as me and secondly because he'd be more likely to remember an argument about the crusts.
I won't cut the crusts off for him. He is welcome to leave them but I'm not going to be complicit in this aspect of his current behaviour. And I will never say "oh he doesn't like crusts" when he's offered sandwiches elsewhere.
Food is a funny thing with kids. We're hoping our hands off approach to Goblins phase will allow him to explore and develop his own opinions of food. What do you think? Does your child have an issue with crusts - or food?
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My five faves from last weeks link up were the following
And now to the linky
We had that with white bread. He used to eat Wheat Bread no problem, then he spent a few days at my sisters house and said he would only eat "Josie Bread" I gave in for one loaf and could not believe that was counted as nutritional. I switched back, and when he asked where "his bread" was, I told him this was his bread,and he could take it or leave it. He started eating it!
ReplyDeleteAh the food fads that have come and gone in this house! Now, after nine years of it, I am much wiser and glad that we didn't often make a fuss over sudden bouts of 'I don't like that anymore'. Ok so it may have taken 3 years for one of my kids to come round to eating spag bol again, but she did, eventually, of her own accord!
ReplyDeleteI am totally with you on not wanting to make food into a big deal. I want meal times to be enjoyable, I want my kids to learn about food and nutrition and to learn how to make their own choices regarding food...
Oh and thanks for featuring me too!
You bring up so many interesting issues -- the mixed bag of exposing kids to the world, how kids mimic other kids behavior for reasons that aren't inherent to the thing itself (in this case food), how kids assert their independence and whether to intervene. I agree with you that this is one to leave alone. Growing independence is more important than eating your crusts!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting - confess to being complicit in cutting off crusts, justified only by desire to reduce the amount of bread wasted :-(
ReplyDeleteOh that's a good point I hadn't thought about it that way
DeleteThanks so much for hosting!
ReplyDeleteHubbie doesn't eat his crusts on sandwiches or toast. His mother used to tell them that when they die they will be presented with all the food they haven't eaten and will have to eat it before they get into heaven. Hubbie and I joke about the amount of crusts that are awaiting him!
ReplyDelete