Since Miles is now well
into his toddler stages, I thought it would be fun to talk about the magical
phrase "I can't like it" when it comes to sitting down and eating
food. Since we are vegetarians and also started this company, Miles has been
our tester for everything from the obvious dehydrated baby food to foods that
have tempeh, tofu and curry. He was always a huge fan of Pad Thai when we made
it and stir-frys. But for some reason a mysterious case of the "I can't
like it" has come into our house.
I'm personally not one
to make separate meals, nor am I one to hide vegetables in their food. So what
can I do to solve this case, or at least meet at a common ground with my very
confident toddler? I have tried having him take a courtesy bite, and if he
didn't like it then that was fine. But that didn't solve anything but
unnecessary stubbornness on both ends. So as I always do I started doing some
research into the matter. I have always personally thought that my child was
amazing and would never become that child that threw tantrums or said the word
"No.” I gave myself a rotator cuff tear from patting myself on the back because
he was always just awesome traveling, going out places and riding in the car
with ease. I thought I was driving this bus just fine. Then the word “no"
came out as I served him dinner one night. My jaw dropped to the ground and
looked around the room hoping that I had served dinner in someone else's house,
and that it was somebody else's child that had said “no.” Then he followed with
the phrase "I can't like it" put his fork on the table told me it was
yucky and went on his merry way to carrying on playing.
How could this wonderful
eater and Miles Outside taster go from everything to nothing? What is happening?
Control is happening parents, control. They now have a voice and are using it
to their advantage, which they should as we are raising them to "Use your
words.” I just never thought it would turn against me and tell me this meal I
have been slaving over for the last two hours was yucky. So I started to do
some research to see how I can tame this problem- or at least calm it down a
little bit.
1. Let your kids help
pick out dinner ideas for the week, which really sometimes helps me because some
days I'm at a loss of what to cook.
2. Have theme nights or
meals that coordinate with what they are learning in school or what they show interest
in outside of school. When I want to make something that is not normally on
their diet, I turn it into picnic night. They love picnics and seem more comfortable
trying different foods in that environment.
3. Let them cook with you,
and help you read the cookbook. My kids love bellying up to the bar to see what’s
going on top of the counter.
4. Put veggies on their
plate every time. Just a small amount, even if they don’t eat all of them, they
get used to the idea of this is what is on their plate. Research shows
they will make better decisions later in life with their eating habits if they
were shown what to eat. So parents that means you to need to eat right! Lead by
example!!
5. Be excited about the
little things they do. If they made a choice to eat their sandwich before
chips, tell them "That was a great decision eating your sandwich first."
If they have one small bit of veggies tell them "Good job for trying
that!!"
Parents you have the
control of putting everything on the kids plate, the kids have the control of
eating it. Meet them in the middle and make them think they have all of the
control. This way you win, they win and everyone is healthy and happy!! We
still sometimes get a case of the "I can't like it" but now at least
he will try it.
We hope we make your
days easier in this hectic world, and let you enjoy Mother Nature with many
more Miles Outside!
