Tags
Related Posts
Share This
Mission
One of my parenting goals is not to produce a picky eater. Or a fearful eater. Picky eaters tend to enrage me, while the latter just make me sad.
I once dined at a restaurant (a wonderful Thai joint) with some extended family where the following scenario took place: The daughter, about 13 years old, declared that she couldn’t find anything she could eat on the menu, even though they had dishes like fried rice—things that most people are comfortable with. This kid’s mom, rather than say what my mom would have said (“This is where we’re eating. Find something you can live with and order it.”), told her daughter that after lunch we’d walk and find something for her to eat. And that’s what we did. The other five of us had a nice Thai lunch, then we all walked to a sub shop so the kid could finally eat.
That’s what I’m trying to avoid. I want a kid who can go anywhere and eat. Happily. I want my kid to never be held back by a fear of the unknown. I want a kid who can hop a plane to Thailand, Panama, Turkey, and enjoy the food when she gets there.
I know grown men who are afraid to try sushi. Which almost makes me as sad as the grown men I know who are afraid to eat goat cheese. For them these foods have this “ick” factor associated with them, really just because they’re different. They’re unknown to them. But those who have tried them know that sushi and goat cheese are delicious, wonderful treats. I know I don’t want to imagine my life without them.
In starting this blog, I hope to make a record of our progress. The things my kid enjoys that I thought she wouldn’t, the things that make her gag. Perhaps it can be helpful or of interest to some—my future self included. There will be recipes and there will be photos. There will successes and there will be massive failures. Hopefully it’ll all be entertaining.
There is no snobbery intended here. I don’t think that people who toss back sawagani or kimchi are any better than those who don’t. In the end, it’s up to my child to choose what she will or won’t eat. All I ask is that she try everything once. And maybe she’ll find something she loves where she least expects it. So she can be a fearless jetsetter someday. Or someone who’s just really good at ordering off a Cantonese menu.
When my parents were engaged, they went to have dinner with friends. The friends’ six-year-old pitched an unholy fit and would not be placated until his mother got up from her dinner, abandoned her dining companions, and made him a hamburger. Then, I’m pretty sure he only nibbled at the hamburger and demanded ice cream.
On the way home, my dad turned to my mom and said “That is exactly what we will NOT have in our house.”
Of course, they ended up erring more on the side of “you will eat what we make, regardless of whether you actually truly find it disgusting,” so we had a good amount of tears and recriminations, but boy howdy am I a good eater as an adult. Even if just to be polite, I will eat anything. The force-feeding technique (or, uh, blunt instrument) of my parents might have been a little much, but the point is, kudos to you for having adventurous eating in mind as a goal! How lucky your kid is. :)
Yikes! Scenes like that are exactly what I want to prevent. I hope to be able to do it without forcing foods on my kids! I know sometimes that can backfire and you end up with a person who has a violent dislike for sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, whatever.
great idea! really. it should be easier to teach a toddler to be open-minded about food than a prejudiced teenager or grown-up! I think the ‘try once’ approach is good though I think it’s quite cool to be able to eat pretty much anything if you’re invited somewhere.
Yes! Someone once told me they took their own brick of Velveeta with them when they went to Mexico because they were so afraid they might accidentally consume a bite of goat cheese. Crazy!