Who flipped the picky switch?
Seriously.
Mr. Busy was always so good with food. He’d eat anything. Our “lazy parenting” mealtime style meant that we’d basically give him little bits of whatever we were eating, and that’s what he would have for dinner, no questions asked. This means he’d be eating Palak Paneer from the Indian place, bagels and lox for breakfast on Sunday, Dim Sum, Chow Fun from the chinese place, Miso soup and Edamame from the Japanese place, and everything inbetween.
Life was good, and dinnertime was generally fun and easy. If he didn’t like what he was given, we would try anything else that we had, and that would be it. If he didn’t want to eat it, then he didn’t have to, but he usually would.
That is, until someone flipped the picky switch. In a matter of about 3 weeks, he’s gone from “Mr. Eats Anything” to “Mr. I want my favorite familiar items only PLEASE!” Additionally, for foods that he doesn’t like, aren’t familiar, or isn’t in the mood for, he now protests, arches his back, turns the other way, and does all those things that are so particularly “toddler”.
It’s not a surprise, and I was somewhat expecting this to happen someday, but I’m still surprised at the speed at which the change has happened. I thought that if we just kept giving him all kinds of stuff, that he’d continue to eat it.
So, we’re going to continue on this plan — he gets what we’re having, and we’ll see how it goes. Both of us are on the same page: If he doesn’t want his dinner, then he can have nothing. It’s sort of harsh, but there’s always plenty of options for him to try, and usually we’re just giving him things that he’s had at least once before and liked (i.e. spaghetti).
The problem is that I’m afraid he’s going to start “filling up on milk” or just taking what he likes and leaving the rest. I’ve seen this happen a little already, and I’m wondering how to nip it in the bud. One thing we’ve thought of is that he’ll only get water with dinner, so there’s not much to fill up on.
Really, this is just one more part of the “big experiment” that is raising a child. Do any of the more experienced dad’s out there have any advice? How can we foster a love for lots of different types of food?
P.S.: Japanese is actually his favorite. Miso! Yum! Tofu! Yum! Seaweed Salad! Yum! Chicken Teriyaki! Yum! Tempura! Yum! (I’m so impressed!)
