When In Doubt, Feed Them Cereal!

Photo courtesy of Parents.com

Mealtime use to be extremely stressful for me.  For some strange reason, when my kids were younger, they were very picky.  I did not know how to wrap my mind around this phenomenon because I was the total opposite when I was a child.  I ate whatever my mom put on my plate, along with some of what was put on my little sisters plate also.  From chicken, to liver, to rice to greens, etc.  All food in my mind and sight was good food.  So when my children began eating solid foods, I was taken aback when they would protest a meal as if they were standing up for human rights in a third world nation!  Seriously, no matter what I did, or cooked, unless it was pasta or cereal, they would not eat it.  It got to the point where I had to supplement meals with nutrition shakes and vitamins just to ensure they got the daily needed nutrients.

After months and months of true anxiety, stress, and major mommy guilt, I had a revelation.  Instead of me worrying to the point of mental breakdown, just keep making nutritious meals and let them sample off their plates.  If they ate it, fine, if not, feed them what they will eat, cereal and/or pasta. 

Photo courtesy of slate.com

Today, my girls are older and did outgrow that phase of being incredibly picky.  That phase lasted for about two years, but I made it through.  People kept giving me "advice" on how to handle it.  Some felt I should starve them until they were so ravenous till they would eat whatever I cooked, while others felt a good, old fashion, southern style spanking would correct the dilemma.  Needless to say, I DID NOT take any of these well intended, but asinine pieces of advice.  Instead, I saw it for what it was.  My children were trying to usurp some new found control and food was a way of doing it.  I knew one thing, they would out grow it.  I just did not know when.  And then it happened!  One day my kids started asking for salad, tacos, burgers, collard greens, eggs, pasta and of course CEREAL!

So moms, if your kids are going through a "picky" phase, please, please do not allow this to stress you out like it did me.  I was so bad off, till I had to seek counseling just to deal with the stress because I took it as if I were failing as a mom.  The truth is, most children, in one way or another, go through this phase of seeking independence.  For some it is food, others it is refusing to potty train and some it is bedtime rituals.  Whatever the problem, instead of blaming yourself, first talk with your child's pediatrician.  After he or she tells you the child is healthy, well and thriving, come up with a game plan that will give you peace of mind and be an asset to your child.

For me, my answer was found in providing an array of cold and hot cereals that my children could choose from that were tasty and nutritious.  This gave them a sense of control and responsibility, because they were able to look in the pantry and decide themselves what cereal they would partake of. Doing this also helped my kids learn how to make a decision and live with it at a young age.  When I was a child, we were not given choices and in some ways that was a positive, but in many ways it was a negative.  Once our daughters mastered the art of deciding on cereal, I applied that same method to other foods.  And before I knew it, meal time got better.

So moms, I always say, there is no problem that a good, heaping bowl of cereal can't solve!

Until next time,

Angela