Feeding your toddler can be something like the seesaw. First off, it takes two. One (that would be you) is usually very excited and proud of the food made for this little experiment with a taste bud-studded tongue. "Let's take it for a test drive,” you say to yourself. “This kid will love the elaborate recipe I’ve prepared, I’m sure of it."
So, you set up. The kid is swathed in plastic so you can be sure not one drop of food will touch the tiny pristine shirt. You have worked so hard all day to keep it clean, it would be a shame to get a stain on it now, so close to bedtime. You have a wet cloth and a dry one close at hand in case a drip, or heaven forbid a morsel, falls to the floor. You have spent the proper amount of time blowing on the entrée to cool it perfectly for your little one’s mouth.
You approach the hungry one and place some of the food on the tray of the spaceship capsule-like high chair. You stand back and wait. Nothing happens. You try again, and get snubbed. "Don't like it, mamma." You are flabbergasted. You feel the mercury rising and seethe look in her eye. You think to yourself, “She is going to get off the seesaw and leave ME wide-eyed in mid air. Don't you do it, don't get off.”. The flurry of thoughts are bouncing around your head -- no, what will she eat?... how could she not like this...? this is a personal attack on my culinary skills... maybe there’s too much oregano, that's it too much oregano…. You find yourself tasting it and say aloud, "Hey, this is good. What is your problem kid? This is delicious!" (Although you never say it, you are thinking it… “Ok, you ungrateful little #$@!@#!”)
Ok, compose yourself, remember: you are not on the playground, you are not eight and Jimmy didn't just leave you in the dust.
This is your child and she needs to learn how to taste and enjoy food. You can't expect her to eat every vegetable or sip every soup just because you made it with love. Children need interaction, remember the airplane? “Open wide… here comes the plane!" That works for a reason: the child needs contact, so put them close to you in a similar chair or even on your lap. Get off the seesaw and swing with them -- you go up, they go up and you can pass each other on the way down. Make eating like recess-- play, talk, enjoy and share.
Jennifer Carden is the author of The Toddler Café (Chronicle Books Spring ’08). For more information about her book and where to find it, send an email to: cook@350degrees.com, available from Chronicle Books, www.chroniclebooks.comLabels: kid's food, toddler