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The principle: Mom is not going to fix different foods for each family member. We are all going to eat the same thing. Mom decides what that is. [For my defense: I am willing to listen to timely suggestions, but I didn't receive any suggestions before everything was prepared today. For my prosecution: By "fix" I mean reheat leftovers].
The scene: Mom is eating meat and potatoes for lunch. Duncan: May I have some [brown] rice for lunch? Mom: No. You can have what I’m having: meat or potatoes. Kate: [Enthusiastically points at an orange]. Mom: No. You can have what I’m having: meat or potatoes.
Result: Mom finds herself ridiculous. My children ask for brown rice and fruit and my response is: it’s red meat, starch, or nothing? What kind of mother am I anyway?
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5 Responses to “Principles Gone Awry?”
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Too funny. How about amending principle as follows: Mom is not going to fix different foods for each family member, unless (a) doing so requires minimal exertion and (b) alternate food requests are significantly healthier than foods on offer, with following subclause: especially if she has just been reheating leftovers to begin with and hence hasn’t made substantial new time investments in preparing current meal. You can always add further codas and appendices as future cases arise, necessitating ever more sophisticated distinctions and analytic definitions. Why not make use of your philosophical education after all?
Therese´s last blog ..Contemplating Dark Visions of Revisions with Aid of Macarons
I was just thinking about this, because I have a new rule. I’m trying to get my kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, and at the dinner meal, at least one fruit and one vegetable is required. However, in order to facilitate this, I am willing to prepare (cut up, steam in the microwave where applicable) any fruit or vegetable in the house for each individual child. It takes a little more time, but is worth it to me if my finicky eaters get a little healty food into their systems. Does that sound crazy? It’s working pretty well, believe it or not.
I think your rule belongs at dinner… or any “special” meal like a Saturday morning pancake festival or any time an actual meal has been prepared. But various leftovers for lunch is kind of the rule of thumb for me — nuking a bit of brown rice that is hanging out in the fridge seems like an okay concession. Mom still gets veto privileges, of course but it’s a low-key opportunity to learn about appropriate choice (and appropriate disagreement).
But that’s just me…
Let me say first that occasionally sanity vetoes nutrition. On the other hand, I have had remarkable results the past couple of weeks with meal planning and shopping, which is one of my least favorite chores. I was especially dreading January, since all my kids are off track and I would have to be making three and a half full meals a day (afternoon snack often ends up being almost a meal) every day. I came up with the wonderful idea of letting the kids do the planning this month. Each of the three older kids got to select, shop for and help prepare a lunch, snack and dinner. We scheduled each of their meals on the calendar and wrote down what meal they had selected. I drew up a shopping list for each of them with the items needed for their meals, and when we went to the store, they each got their own small shopping cart. I let the two oldest just take off on their own and find their items while I helped Lily, my five year old, find her items. For the first time ever in the history of our family, I took all four children with me to the store and there was not a single argument or whining incident! A true miracle!
I insisted that each meal have a a fruit or veggie side and that snacks had to have some nutrional value (we’ve had smoothies, popcorn, and crackers and cheese, as opposed to fruit snacks and granola bars). It’s been a great learning experience for the kids and actually kind of a relief and help for me!
Wow Robin, what an amazing success! I clearly have much to learn.