What’s For Dinner?
My stepson has a new eating regiment. He must eat vegetables at every meal, and he must eat what we are eating. He’s done well with these new rules. After a month of trying new foods he’s discovered that he likes salmon. The complaining is less intense than it was at the beginning of the month. Now only half of his comments during meals are complaints. Increasing his vegetable intake has done wonders for his complexion. His previous diet of cheese, more cheese, and creamy Caesar dressing was causing pimples to erupt from his twelve-year-old forehead. The pimples are subsiding.
Tonight we had chicken curry for dinner. He had a choice. He could eat with his father or with me. His father had to leave for work about twenty minutes before I got home. He chose to eat later, with me. I was surprised by this decision, but soon discovered the reason. While we ate our salads we talked. He told me about a few stories he saw on the evening news. After the salads he told me about how much he didn’t like curry. Then he asked me if he could have a pita pizza for dinner instead. I told him that there were no pitas, and he pulled a new bag of them from the refrigerator. Of course, I told him no. Curry was what we were eating for dinner. He could eat that or nothing.
He thinks I’m the pushover. I’m the one who will let him have what he wants. I’m about to let you in on a big secret. You are going to be privy to some important information that only a few know. Are you ready? I made the new meal rules. I did it. He doesn’t know. If he reads this, he will know, but he usually doesn’t read my blog. One night when my husband came home from a gig, I had found some articles about dealing with children who are picky eaters online. I asked him to read them. Then I told him my plan. We discussed some ideas and made some new mealtime rules. I let my husband explain and enforce the new rules. I’m the food tyrant and my husband is my henchman. I can try to pacify the subject with the occasional meal of cheese ravioli, but one day he’ll figure it out. If he thinks about it long enough, he’ll figure it out.
Here’s another secret. The new homeschooling schedule was me too. I researched the curriculum. His father enforces that schedule and we both check the work. I love it because it’s like good cop, bad cop.
