This picture is from last summer, but Blake still likes ice-cream.
I find myself fascinated by Blake's eating habits, his likes and dislikes. They are so random and constantly change. We used to be proud of his wide palette, but lately he started being more picky. If before he'll try anything and only spit out food he genuinely didn't like, now he often judges food before even tasting it based on its appearance and smell.
His favourites are chips, rice, fresh tomatos, chicken and all kinds of fruit. He also likes many dim sum menu items, from crumbly pork pies to gooey shrimp pancakes. Anything outside of that is guess work and trial and error. He used to like the toddler ready made meals and devour them, but now he wouldn't touch them. Some pasta he likes and some he reject insistently, and I suspect it all comes down to the shape of the pasta.
Miron hates chocolate which made it really easy for me to stock up without worrying about anyone looting my stash. Unfortunately for both of us, Blake adores chocolate. Miron, being a chocolate hater, is a persecuted minority shunned by society and he hoped to find a kindred spirit in his son. I'm disappointed because I can't pig out on chocolate in front of Blake without having to share and if I don't want him to eat too much chocolate, I can't eat too much chocolate. You know when people say how they have to make sacrifices for their children? That's one of those sacrifices right there.
Blake loved his formula bottles and I was worried about how to wean him off them. But then one day a couple of months before his second birthday he rejected the bottle and that was it. Not only that, he doesn't like any milk-based drinks, not even chocolate drinks. Yet, he loves cereal and eats it almost every morning. I just have to feed it to him with a fork because if I use a spoon he'd spit the excess milk through pursed lips.
It's very frustrating to make something for him and have him refuse to even touch it. I can't leave him hungry so I end up making him something I know he likes.
At least Blake is quite naturally balanced. He loves chocolate and cookies, but he adores apples, bananas, clementines and strawberries just as much, if not more. He likes playing games and watching videos on his iPod, but he'd drop it in a second to go play outside in the garden.
At least I'm easy to cater for. I'm like a garbage disposer. I'll eat pretty much anything.
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3 comments:
What is that pink thing anyway? That is gross! That must have been great having all the chocolate to yourself in the house before Blake came along.
I think that little Blake is pretty much normal. Sorry to tell you that. He will probably come in and out of liking foods his whole life. I'm 42 and just starting eating onions. See, you're never too old.
Our kids are old enough to reason with however. If we start with a salad at dinner, whoever doesn't want a salad has to sit there and wait until the rest of us are done and the next serving comes along. Needless to say, everyone now eats a salad.
Have fun! It's just begun.
Your Friend, m.
Michael, I usually don't comment on stranger's blogs but I have to this time! It sounds like you've done a great job expanding your little guys palate and that you will continue to do so but one thing I would really caution you against is making a meal, having him reject it, and then making another alternative. Nothing creates a "chicken nuggets and Mac n cheese" kid faster! In our house, from birth, you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit. Each kid (well, and truth be told, each parent) is entitled to one "Mulligan"... a meal they simply HATE but beyond that, if you don't eat, you'll be hungry. This summer I've slightly tweaked my hard stance by keeping fruit and/or cut up veggies from our garden out on the table most of the day so that if dinner is something "icky", they can load up on grapes, or cut up melon, or carrot sticks and zucchini from our garden. But beyond that, I truly believe that just b/c lots of kids hate mushrooms, I don't have to cater to that mentality and frankly, my 4 have really amazingly mature palates. We are constantly going places and having people comment on "what good eaters they are!" And as such they are super healthy, genetically are naturally very thin so we don't worry about that whole "fat kid" issue, but also they aren't drawn immediately to the "crap" that SO very many kids insist upon.
Anyway, thought I'd chime in, hope I don't sound like some kind of crazy parenting nazi... trust me, I've been known to sling canned peaches, mac n cheese and chicken nuggets with the best of them! :)
Hey Betsy, it's always good to hear other parents' approach to things.
Blake is naturally into healthy food like fruit and vegetables. In fact if he had chicken and tomatoes in front of him he'd eat the tomatoes first.
I have more than one food I don't like so I don't expect to limit Blake to one either. If Blake is too fussy I do sometime let him go hungry. He's not too thin and if he really doesn't want to eat, he doesn't have too.
Blake has an eclectic palate and would eat lots of things other kids would consider "gross" while his dislikes are sometimes very unusual. For example, he doesn't like ketchup on his chips and would try to shake it off...
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