by Alysa Leier
You know that book about sleep with the title that makes every mom cringe (because there’s a really naughty word in it)? Yet, I bet most of you think, “Oh boy have I ever been there!”
I’ve definitely been there. And lately, I’ve also been there with eating, except the title would be “Eat your [bleeping] food!”
I don’t even know where this is coming from. Why, all of a sudden, are my normally-not-very-picky kids not interested in eating anything but junk?
I mean, they aren’t even eating their tried-and-true favorites anymore. Out of nowhere, one of my kids doesn’t like macaroni and cheese. This normally wouldn’t bother me (because I dislike mac ’n’ cheese) but now I make a box of the stuff for one kid. I’m not going to warm it up for my husband to eat when he gets out of the field, because yuck, and I like him way too much to do that. So it just goes to waste!
Then my other kid decides she’s only going to eat one kind of yogurt. These kids have been raised on every different kind of dairy product and she decides she’s only going to eat one kind. Then when I buy a few containers for her, she eats one and lets the rest go past expiration. And that’s not even half the battle for breakfast.
My kids are fortunate enough to have a short-order cook (I use that term very loosely here. It’s me if you’re wondering) who is willing to make them a healthy breakfast item (within reason of course) in the morning before school to give them their best start to the day. You know what they pick if it’s an option? A pop tart. Or a toaster strudel. Which is still sitting on the counter when I return home from school drop off.
Seriously.
What is even happening here? I would have killed for breakfast foods like that when I was little. (Well, that’s what I tell my kids, because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t buy them if I didn’t already know how good that sugary deliciousness tastes first thing in the morning.) Apparently there’s nothing like a sugar kick to the teeth in the early a.m. But what good does it do if you don’t ingest it?
And you know what the worst part of all of this is? This is only the tip of the nonsense iceberg I’m dealing with around here when it comes to food! I know food habits are learned, and I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a constant work-in-progress for even my 30+ year-old self, but it seems as though they’re both just trying to make sure I lose what little there is left of my mind.