Let's Make a Deal

Dinnertime ... Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

It's an age old quarrel between parents and their children. You get the beautiful spread on the table, after slaving away all day on one meal just to hear your beautiful, loving child say, "gross, I'm not eating that." A quick flash of anger surges over you and brings Sally, the Shark sailing from the abyss.

 In that moment, you quickly make a choice of how to handle the situation. There are typically two ways to do so, the first is often the way that the situation was handled when we were children (allow me to demonstrate), "this is what we are having for dinner tonight, I'm not a short order cook."

The second option is making a deal with the child or children who have an aversion to the food that you've placed before them ( this must be done simultaneously with sending Sally, the Shark back to the sea and I promise you ... it won't be easy). Making a deal could include more peas for no broccoli, allowing them to reheat yesterday's leftovers or even skipping the meal that you've slaved over altogether for a pb&j (hold the pitch forks and torches please, I have a point, I promise).

Peanut Butter Jelly Time 

When I first became a mother, the idea of giving a child a pb&j after I spent hours in a hot kitchen cooking, really chapped my hindquarters. I take pride in the meals that I cook and I want my family to partake in those meals. I want them to glean the nutritional value from the veggies and protein (and tell me what a wonderful cook I am) ... no child of mine will eat a pb&j for dinner; and then I woke up. 

After much self-evaluation, I realized that I was causing my children to have more temper tantrums and meltdowns by requiring that they eat what I cook; I was making my job and theirs harder on the both of us. So, I changed my approach to dinnertime. I started allowing my children to make their own pb&j when they don't like what has been placed before them. 

Why Any Of This Matters

In the beginning, we went through a ton of peanut butter and jelly; our kids were having that for dinner all the time. I had to keep my pride in check, I kept reminding myself that they weren't rejecting me or my cooking but their taste buds are still forming and some of them were just a little too hesitant to try what we were having. 

I also saw that by allowing them to fix their own sandwiches, i.e. supper, they became more autonomous. They learned their way around the kitchen and the pantry a little bit better and I reluctantly saw the children in my home grow up a little bit more. After all, isn't it our jobs as parents to prepare them for adulthood? What better place to start than with a pb&j? Finally, after about the fifth or sixth pb&j my kids started getting tired of that sweet, gooey, goodness for dinner and became more willing to try what we were having. I inadvertently got my children to expand their food choices!

Your Turn 

How do you deal with your dinnertime woes? Do you make deals or ask your children to eat what you have cooked? What suggestions do you have for parents struggling with dinnertime? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.