Food-Good Stuff
nycartgal2003
I have son who will be three in December, so I am a newbie at this and usually read the list instead of posting, but there are so many questions here about food, I thought I would post some positive experiences we have been having.
We don't limit or forbid any foods.
It certainly wasn't the way we thought we would parent. We planned on only offering healthy foods, etc. etc. When I discovered Unschooling and read about how limitations can cause more desire for the forbidden fruit it made so much sense.
A few months ago we started having, for lack of a better word, "issues" around food.
We'd give Logan food, and he would ask for something else.
He'd say, "I want something in the fridge"
We would open the fridge door and make him offers, which he would refuse, and then he would get very upset.
My husband Paul and I kept offering other options not realizing we were overwhelming him.
Then it clicked for me.
I would try the Monkey Platter not just as a snack concept for him, but for his meals as well. It has worked like a charm.
He has a tray type plate with pictures of monkeys on it which he loves.
Now, either I bring him his favorite foods on the tray, or I ask him what he wants on his Monkey Plate. He always includes an interesting assortment of foods from grapefruit, (his favorite food), to M & Ms. He usually eats the fruit, cheese, veggies, or meats more, and picks at the sweets.
When it comes to things like sweets/snacks, we have a cabinet under the counter that Logan can reach. There are things like chips, pretzels, nuts, raisins, and cookies in there.
I do buy the healthier versions of most of these things when I can, (Whole Foods has a version of M&Ms) although he prefers Teddy Grahams to Annie's Natural Bunnies, so that is what we buy :)
He really enjoys telling me he is going to go to his little cabinet and get a snack.
Last night at dinner he ate a ton of Swiss Chard, choosing it over the cookies on his platter.
There are still melt downs, but they usually occurr if my timing is off and he is very hungry or tired before I bring him his food.
We do have another situation that we need help with, which I will describe on another post.
We don't limit or forbid any foods.
It certainly wasn't the way we thought we would parent. We planned on only offering healthy foods, etc. etc. When I discovered Unschooling and read about how limitations can cause more desire for the forbidden fruit it made so much sense.
A few months ago we started having, for lack of a better word, "issues" around food.
We'd give Logan food, and he would ask for something else.
He'd say, "I want something in the fridge"
We would open the fridge door and make him offers, which he would refuse, and then he would get very upset.
My husband Paul and I kept offering other options not realizing we were overwhelming him.
Then it clicked for me.
I would try the Monkey Platter not just as a snack concept for him, but for his meals as well. It has worked like a charm.
He has a tray type plate with pictures of monkeys on it which he loves.
Now, either I bring him his favorite foods on the tray, or I ask him what he wants on his Monkey Plate. He always includes an interesting assortment of foods from grapefruit, (his favorite food), to M & Ms. He usually eats the fruit, cheese, veggies, or meats more, and picks at the sweets.
When it comes to things like sweets/snacks, we have a cabinet under the counter that Logan can reach. There are things like chips, pretzels, nuts, raisins, and cookies in there.
I do buy the healthier versions of most of these things when I can, (Whole Foods has a version of M&Ms) although he prefers Teddy Grahams to Annie's Natural Bunnies, so that is what we buy :)
He really enjoys telling me he is going to go to his little cabinet and get a snack.
Last night at dinner he ate a ton of Swiss Chard, choosing it over the cookies on his platter.
There are still melt downs, but they usually occurr if my timing is off and he is very hungry or tired before I bring him his food.
We do have another situation that we need help with, which I will describe on another post.