Meredith

I pulled this out of another thread:

> I see unschooling like a grocery store. Some parents would
say, "Eat
> what you want." That is their style. I do not want my child to eat
> Twinkies, so I say, "You can eat anything in the produce
department."

Rather than starting out by setting a limit, and trying to make the
world smaller, why not leap straight to the infinite possiblities?

*Hey, look at this really weird looking fruit? shall we take it home
and try it?
*Ooooooh, that cheese smells good, lets get some of that!
*Wow, this bread has a neat texture. Should we get one or two?
*I wonder what the difference is between "marinated" and "in
brine"... what the heck, lets get both.

Even foods that have less nutritional value, there are options
besides "lets skip this aisle" - options that allow you to make the
world bigger for your family. Taste test different brands and
varieties, for example. Compare ready made and home made, or all
natural ingredients, or organic. Talk about ingredients and
nutrition and different aspects of health - not in a judgemental
way, but an informative way.

My 6yo often asks me questions about the nutritional content of food
and likes to wild-harvest, and she's eaten Twinkies, too. When she's
really hungry, she wants foods that have some oomph to them. She
*wants* to be healthy - but she doesn't want me to make her
decisions for her, even with the best of intentions. She wants to
think about things. I *want* her to think about things. I don't want
her to just take anoyone's word for something - not even mine.

---Meredith (Mo 6, Ray 14)