Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The battle surrounding food

I don't plan on venturing in to parenting blog territory because I'm the last guy that should ever give parenting advice - outside of don't become a parent at 15 years old because that will never turn out well but I've been a dad now for about 19 months so that qualifies me for something.

The toddler is as cute as a whole truckload of buttons but the problem is that she knows it. She is already using her stunning good looks to her advantage and that is never good. Before she has turned two and before she has truly begun to talk she is already a tiny diva. I've heard stories about how she makes little boys her age do what she wants for her. If that isn't a glimpse in to the future, I don't know what is.

But this isn't about her manipulating of the tiny males around her. This is about her eating habits. I'll just say that I don't view obesity as ever being a problem for her because, from what I understand, obese people usually eat. This eating thing is something that the toddler rarely eats in my presence. Last night was especially tough as we actually held her down and put food in her tiny, angry mouth. Lately her eating habits include sitting for about two minutes (actually eating some) and then running around with us increasingly frazzled parents stuffing food in to her mouth as she sprints by.

I don't usually compare notes with other parents because I have other, more important things to talk about like what I'm having for lunch and the status of my shoes (disintegrating) but her eating habits are disturbing. Obviously, based on her steady weight, she is actually eating at some point and the pediatrician said that the whole not eating thing is normal but I'd love for her to eat at least a couple meals each day (maybe even sit for the entirety of them). Maybe some meat in her diet because as delicious as fruit is, it's not exactly rich in protein.

I'm sure this will all work out in the end but I've gone as far as having a sit-down conversation with the toddler where I discussed how if she doesn't eat she's going to be the first toddler to starve with a full plate of food sitting right in front of her.

If that was too wordy for you, try some photos. Check out the best photos of Minnesota at MinnPics!

4 comments:

Reuben said...

You'll get a lot more hits if you blog about kids. For real. You could spend all day writing the most thought-provoking posts ever, and it still won't measure up to the traffic levels some of these mommy blogs are getting by doing nothing but posting photos of cute kids.

Whiskeymarie said...

I was going to make some suggestions here, but then I remembered that I don't have kids, and using my experience with feeding my dog is probably of no use to you.
I'll move along now.

Sornie said...

Maybe the kid blog aspect is the next direction for this run down shanty. As for your suggestions Whiskey, I always like some boozy tips.

Jules said...

I live this daily. Have since my son started eating solid food at 1 year old. He's 4.5 now. I'm still battling. It's such a disturbing thing, to think that your child will be malnurished if they don't eat the balanced diet you put in front of them. I think what eventually got my son eating at least little bits of things is the fact that he was so constipated he got a hemmorrhoid at the age of 4. I took him to the doctor for it, made a big deal out of eating right so your body stays healthy. Since then he still eats small servings, but at least I can get some of each food group into him if I explain what part of the food the body needs to stay healthy. Blame your daughter's next "owie" whatever it is on her not eating well, but make sure it's one that will require follow up first aid for about a week and keep blaming her diet every time you change the bandage. LOL