Candid Kid-Choices
Nicole Rod:
I would like to add to the myriad of anecdotal evidence here, that last week I watched my daughter eat a bowl of ice cream, and then ask for a bowl of grapes.2016, Radical Unschooling Info
Shan Burton wrote, of her daughter who was nearly seven:
"Mother, how does this sound for a sub? Spinach, wheat germ, and cheese?" On a whole grain hot dog bun. It tastes delicious, she reports. So, someone remind me why it'd be a disaster to let her eat what and when she wants? ;)"
Leo: "Mom, I want a carrot!"
Thomas: "Mom, I want a carrot!"
Me: sorry boys, we run out of carrots... But we have steamed beetroot.
"Yay!" says Thomas, he loves beetroot. Thrilled about boys loving healthy foods :-) Convinced it is the results of the food freedom we have at our house :-)
We have been rushing around the last few days due to various kids' activities. Yesterday, Adriane's birthfamily was stopping by for a visit so I was frantically cleaning house. Jerry had fixed the kids a big breakfast earlier and I told the kids I wasn't fixing a sit down lunch due to time constraints. If they were hungry they should just help themselves. Having complete freedom to eat whatever they wanted, they did this:
Zach (10) fixed a corndog and chocolate milk.
Marsie (7) fixed a tortilla with cheese melted on it.
Dan (5) had two tortillas straight out of the fridge and some marshmallows.
Adriane (13) had an apple with peanut butter and a salad.
Michelle (4) had just woken up. The only thing that interested her at all
was spinach leaves that she could dip in salad dressing.
Mine also can choose what ever they like.
We haven't always been this way with the kids, its been about a year now and I see some amazing changes.
I used to be very anal about meal time, no snacks, no dessert unless you'd cleaned your plates. The whole shabang, yuck.
We are so much more relaxed with each other now, my kids choose a whole range of foods. They still like some candy/treats but they eat alot less than other friends whose parents limit them.
I know that we've now come to a good place with eating and meals. My son, 10, who had the most limiting and coersion, came to me last week and asked if he could fix a dinner for all of us. He wanted to make it a sit down dinner with many courses! I was blown away.
He made up the menu, grocery list, we went grocery shopping, he did alot of the cooking(me helping when he wanted). His sisters also helped with making a big menu to hang on the wall. He presented the following: Spinach salad, Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, honey glazed carrots and for dessert-French silk pie (homemade).
It was very cool. He was very pleased with himself and the family had a really nice evening.
There is such a difference in him towards this kind of thing since we've been more respectful towards each other — which started with our unschooling. Before he would have never wanted to do this kind of thing. Now he is choosing to do this and its making for some really wonderful family time.
On Jan 9, 2004, at 12:32 PM, Mary wrote (as part of a longer exchange):
I guess I too could say it isn't healthy to sit in front of the tv all day eating candy. But when I don't see that happening, it's not an issue. I'm sure it would become one if I started to make rules about food.Pam Sorooshian replied:
Rosie, Roxana, and I are watching "Kiki's Delivery Service" (I'm kind of half watching and half reading email) and Rosie just ate a bowl of oatmeal and is now eating a little chunk of cheddar cheese and sunflower seeds while drinking a glass of water. Rox isn't eating. I had oatmeal and coffee. There are home-made caramel apples in the kitchen as well as a box of chocolate candy that has been sitting there since before Christmas and I think I'm the only one who has eaten them. There is a also a plate of baklava that was from before Christmas—my husband had one last night. There are chocolate mint cookies someone gave us before Christmas—in a bowl with a few little mini-banana muffins. There is a bag of Jelly Bellies. With all the sweets sitting around —they're going bad before we get around to eating them. Last night we ate popcorn—no sweets except one piece of baklava that my husband ate with his tea. A few weeks ago Rosie got an urge for potato chips—she wanted a big bag of them almost every day for about two weeks. So I got them—she ate them—now she seems to have had her fill and hasn't asked again for the past few weeks.
—pam
True Tales of Kids Turning Down Sweets A Tale of 3 lbs. of Chocolate
