Penn is currently our best and most adventurous eater, but I think that comes with 1-year old territory. He's trying out new foods each week and has not quite realized that flat out refusing a meal is an option.
Nora is our next best eater, and when left to her own devices, she will eat most things. She tried tunafish at the beach and loved it; she ate a huge salad with balsamic dressing the other night, and she devoured half of my baked salmon last week. She loves all fruits and seems to favor raw veggies over cooked.
And then there's Isaac. He has never enjoyed eating. Even when he was a baby, drinking bottles seemed a major chore to him. When we introduced solid foods, he was very underwhelmed. He pretty much existed off of whole milk from one particular straw cup until he turned 2. We thought at first that he was just a picky eater, and perhaps that is part of it, but we now know much of his resistance to eating has to do with his sensory integration disorder and anxiety. He's not okay with certain textures or temperatures, and if something smells "different" he will make faces like he is going to be ill. He is very, very sensitive when it comes to food, to say the least.
Last night the kids were being so good: Penn had eaten his healthy dinner and gone to bed, Nora had willingly taken a bath, and Isaac was playing so contentedly in the front yard with his dinosaurs. When I beckoned for Isaac to come inside for dinner, a total meltdown ensued.
Like most toddlers, he does not like being asked to stop playing. I tried calming him down in the usual ways, but it was not working. He clearly wanted to be outside. I offered to bring him dinner outside, to which he replied "No. Pop." This was a really good verbal response for Isaac! Typically he will say one word alone, but rarely does he create two word phrases. I was so proud of him, and then I asked him "Do you mean popcorn?" and he said "pop-c," which was such great progress!! He has trouble with the "c/k" sound and typically will make a "t" sound instead. Overwhelmed with joy for my little guy talking so well, I relented and let him eat popcorn for dinner...outside. Naturally, Nora wanted the same as Isaac, so she joined in.
As parents, we try so hard to make the best choices for our kids that it's often easy to get caught in the weeds. Which is the best choice: to let your child get what they want because they throw a fit but use really good verbal language, or to reinforce to your child that it's not okay to throw a fit over something you want by making them come inside and eat a healthy dinner? I think both approaches are correct, and honestly, depending on the day, I could have taken the other route. We're all doing the best we can, and parenthood is really hard. Oh, and adulthood. Damn, I don't know which is more difficult. So yes, I let me kids eat popcorn for dinner: no vegetables, no fruit. And guess what? They are okay, and so am I.
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