I'm finding that one of the toughest parts about parenting
nearly-two-year-olds is deciding when and when not to let them have
their way, and how to maintain some semblance of consistency while also
being flexible. Obviously, in some cases, there's no room for
negotiation: no, you can't go outside without a jacket; no, you can't
play with that steak knife; no, you can't borrow the car.
But
so much of the time it's a judgement call. Last night, for example, I
made the girls a nutritious and colorful dinner of veggie burger, sweet
potato fries and green beans -- all foods that they generally like. I
gave them ketchup for dipping, too. (It's a vegetable!) But they
wouldn't eat any of it. (Well, Elsa ate some of the ketchup.) Then Clio
started asking for applesauce. Elsa, of course, joined in. (Which is
frustrating because I think, given time, she might have actually eaten
her dinner.)
I tried the whole "you can have applesauce
if you eat one bite of veggie burger and one bean" approach, but I
honestly don't think the girls quite grasp the logic of delayed
gratification yet. In the end, after much whining (from both them and
me) I folded and gave them applesauce. They both ate, like, two giant
bowls of it. So they were obviously hungry. But not for veggie burger,
beans and sweet potato fries with ketchup. (Note: I also tried getting
them to dip their sweet potato fries, etc. in the applesauce, but they
just licked it off. Foiled!)
Did I do the wrong
thing? Should I have refused to give in? Sent them to bed, then served
them their untouched dinners the next morning, cold, a la Mommie
Dearest? Or are you supposed to not worry too much about what your kids
at this age eat at any one meal, as long as they get some protein,
vitamins and fiber in over the course of the day?
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