Dinner Time

Dinner Time

Last night as the whole family sat down for dinner Pixie said, “This is an excellent dinner Mommy!”  (Love that kid!)

 

So often we sit down to dinner and one (all) of the girls complain, moan, or make faces.  

Once when Ya-ya was about 4 years old I had had enough of her complaining about my dinner choices.  I sat her down and tried to explain that it hurt my feelings.  I asked how she would feel if I criticized her artwork because I work just as hard on dinner as she does on her masterpieces..  She looked at me and said, “That will never happen because I’m a great artist.”

I just had to laugh.  Of course I couldn’t help but respond with “I’m a great cook, you just don’t know it!”

Despite the lack of encouragement, I continue to prepare dinner for us 5-6 nights a week and we sit down to eat as a family.

My good friend Rachel, a nutritionist, promises this will have benefits in the future.  So Tall One and I keep trying.  I can’t stand repetition and monotoany so I am always trying new recipes and foods.  I know that kids are just the opposite- they like repeition and are fans of the “known.”  So I do stick in favorites a few nights a week.

I generally include at least one thing on the menu that I know the kids will eat. Often, I accomplish that by serving a deconstructed version of the main dinner.  For instance, last night we had  tofu, corn, carrot, rice and cashew lettuce wraps.  I served the complete dish as well as the individual ingredients.  

Ya-ya has matured into an adventurous eater and will try anything, she ate the wraps and loved it.  The others ate the rice and carrots. I don’t know what got Pixie excited about the dinner - maybe the construction of the lettuce wrap?  Either way- she tried it all but didn't actually eat much.  

Meals are like so much of parenting, it is easy to take it personally.  When the girls complain, I take it to heart.  I need to remember what Rachel says, "It is your job to make healthy food available, it is their job to eat it."  So I back off and enjoy my dinner. 

When the girls complain about dinner I now reply, "The good news is, you don't have to eat it."  I've done my job, its up to them to do theirs.