I read somewhere and for the life of me I can not remember where something about parents who’s children eat everything shouldn’t be smug. Why? Why can I let people know about the crap sides of my life, but not the good things?
I am a proud mum and yes I am somewhat smug, my children are good eaters. Is it down to me, yes it probably is. I am happy to say that out loud. My boys eat mostly everything I put in front of them nowadays, yes the do have foods they don’t like, but they are both happy to try new foods and are not in the slightest picky eaters.
How did this happen? Firstly let me tell you that I was hung up on food and the boys, one of my issues was that I was a bad mother, when the truth be told, I am a good enough mother and that is all that matters. I can say this now and believe it, that is what having weekly CBT counselling does for you. Up until Maxi was 2 year old, he had never had anything processed or not home made from scratch! Now I am a lot more relaxed about food, but I am oh so proud of the way they both eat and what they eat.
I was invited to meet with Nutella for breakfast over half term with a number of bloggers and met with a dietitian and other people to discuss children’s eating habits and I came away confident that I am teaching my boys good food lessons that will take them through life. Kate from the Five F’s has done a great post on Nutella.
As their mother I am their biggest influence and so it is down to me, to set a good example to them and how I do this is by eating breakfast and dinner with them most days. We eat dinner as a family 6 out of 7 nights during the week. This isn’t easy, but we have made sacrifices to enable that we do the things that are important to us and having both grown up eating with our families this one was key for both of us.
So I have decided that I am going to go against the flow and say I am proud of me for the fact my boys are great eaters. Will it always be like this, I doubt it, but one thing I do know, is that if it isn’t I will work at improving it.
Well I’d say my kids are pretty good eaters too! Like yours they have their favourites but both will try new things and we can take them to eat out at all manner of places with no fear of refusal!! #2 likes sushi after a school project on Japan, he’s a grazer like me and prefers a mezze like meal where he can have a bit of everything!! #1 however is so much like her dad its untrue – meat and two veg all the way thanks!!
Huh! How odd that we mums of good eaters shouldn’t be smug (I don’t rub it in others faces but won’t lie about it if asked). Hell yes I’m another loud and proud member of the good eaters club! Squidge doesn’t like peas. Does she eat peas? Yes! I make her eat 5/6 of them if there on the menu. If I introduce a new food I will have her try it. Sometimes it takes a couple of times before she’ll like it but in the end she usually does. Although I will admit that I’ve yet to get her to eat a mushroom. That too will come! I didn’t go to the nutella thing but I pretty closed minded when it comes to chocolate for breakfast. It’s a HELL no you’re not having it. We do have choccy cereal (given to us by Kellogg’s) but it is strictly a snack food, sometimes I’ll give her a bowl as her after school snack.
I think you’re absolutely right to be proud! The thing that people warn against, I think, is to stop parents acting as like they know all the answers, and THAT’s why their children are good eaters (or compliantly behaved or whatever). Your children eating well is obviously a combination of good parenting and good genes.
Our Son 1 is a good eater (‘payella – ym! I love all those wiggly little tentacles…’) and our Son 2 is a brave but terrified eater (‘I know I need to eat vegetables so I will but I just can’t touch that meat because it has sauce on it’). His dad and I eat well and passed on our genes to Son 1, but Son 2, with the same parenting, has inherited the rest of my family’s super-tating, super-reactive genes, and really can’t bear many of the tastes and textures the rest of us enjoy. Good parenting with him has to mean something different – heathy food with the confidence to experiment a little, not anger that he hasn’t turned out exactly like his brother. Easier said than done, of course…
I think you should be proud that your boys eat well. I would be too. I’m proud that my youngest loves fruit more than cakes for example, though I don’t think that has too much to do with me. But n
either do I feel responsible for the fact that my elder son is a very fussy eater and won’t touch either fruit or vegetables – I did everything I could to encourage him to eat them, but it seems to be an inherent part of his personality. My brother was the same until he grew up.
We also try to eat as a family regularly – it gives me so much more time that way, but with such a fussy eater, and a husband on an almost totally fat-free diet it’s very difficult!
Always be proud and be proud of saying it out loud too! Think your idea of sitting down to eat as a family is an excellent one. We do too!
No shame there – you should be proud of yourself!
My nephews love their vegetables and it is a great feeling to cook for them – they love my cooking and leave empty plates. Great stuff!
We’re going through a non-eating phase at the moment, but I have a good eater too. He announces that he doesn’t like things from time to time, but that’s just a way of asserting his independence I think because he’ll start scoffing it as soon as your back is turned. He won’t countenance tomatoes though. But then neither will I. Even touching raw tomatoes gives me the heebie jeebies. So what can you expect?
I heard a mother boast that she had a good eater the other day. Apparently the poor child ate so well because if she didn’t her mother would hold her down and stuff whatever it was she had refused into her mouth. I’d rather mine ate a diet of chicken nuggets and cereal than do that.
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You should be proud! It’s probably because you’re relaxed about food that the boys are so open to trying new things.
Lifelong good eating habits are so very very important, your boys will thank you. I think parents can have a lot of influence over what their children end up eating, offering them lots of variety and lots of vegetables. I do know a family though where 2 out of the 3 kids are great eaters, but one of them just isn’t. So I think some kids are just naturally much more particular and picky about food, and mum’s shouldn’t feel bad if despite their very best efforts their kids are still picky. I was an extremely picky eater as a kid, I literally lived on salmon spread sandwiches and chocolate biscuits for years. I wouldn’t eat food if it was prepared by anyone other than my mum. To this day, leaving half your dinner on your plate is referred to as “doing a geekymummy’ in our family! My sister, however, was always a great eater, and my mum treated us both the same. As an adult I’m a very healthy eater, so there is hope!