Learning to Share
Abbie wants to eat whatever we’re eating. If you sit down to a big bowl/plate/stick full of something edible near her, be prepared to share. Abbie will whine and attempt to crawl all over you unless she receives a constant stream of delectable goodness. The big exception to her begging is my morning bowl of raisin bran. She ignores my cereal but crawls all over mommy when she eats her bowl of Fake Golden Grahams, so it’s good to see that sugary cereals already have a hold over her.
She’s much like our dog in her pleading, except the dog respects me enough to beg while sitting on the floor. Plus I never feel guilty about depriving the dog when she has a whole bowl full of food that’s better for her anyway. With Abbie I want to encourage good eating habits and feel compelled to share whatever delicious yet nutritious item I’m consuming in front of her. Unless I have a big bowl of ice cream; that I don’t want to share with her,* which is why I usually go downstairs to eat it, protected behind a baby gate and a flight of stairs that she can’t independently climb down yet.
Most foods I do readily share with her, like my baby carrots. Baby carrots are the last thing I eat for lunch; they’re my dessert after healthy meal.** Yesterday I sat down on the couch with my carrots to enjoy some college football, specifically yesterday’s epic battle between Nebraska and Iowa State. Nebraska won in double overtime because their offense wanted it more, and when I say “their offense” I mean “Iowa State’s offense,” and when I say “wanted it more” I mean “wanted to throw the game away more” because neither offense accomplished much before being given the ball 25 yards from the end zone in overtime.
Not that Abbie cared about the offensive struggle taking place on our television screen. She cared only about the carrots I was hoisting into my mouth. The dog cared only about the carrots I was hoisting into my mouth as well, but true to form the dog stayed on the floor while Abbie attempted to scale my leg. When this situation happened a few months ago, I would hold a carrot out for her to gnaw on while ate the rest in my hand. Her mouth wouldn’t be able to break off any sizable pieces. A couple minutes later I would throw a heavily pockmarked carrot to the dog, and everyone would be happy.
Now her mouth is strong enough to break off sizable pieces, but she hasn’t quite figured out how to chew. This creates a choking hazard, so when I hold out a carrot for her I make sure she breaks off a piece small enough for her to handle. I know she can handle a piece the size of dog food kibble, so that’s my reference point.
I let her take a few bites off the carrot, and soon I held a little kibble-sized nub in my fingers. At that point I simply handed her the carrot thinking she would greedily shove it in her mouth and ask for more. Instead she took it, examined it, turned, and offered it to the dog. The dog in turn greedily snapped it up from her fingers and asked for more.
That was new behavior. I know she throws Tasteeos and vegetables from her high chair onto the floor, which the dog kindly cleans up for me. I always thought she did that for the thrill of watching food hit the floor, not to feed the dog. Maybe I’m wrong; maybe she loves feeding the dog. Maybe next time I give her something tasty, like a cookie or piece of apple, she will simply turn around and offer it to the dog. I just shouldn’t expect that to happen with some of mommy’s Fake Golden Grahams.
* Because it’s unhealthy for her of course, not because it’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with whipped topping and chocolate sauce on top and a warm cookie underneath and I want it all to myself.
** The cookies I eat half an hour later? They’re an afternoon snack.
She’s much like our dog in her pleading, except the dog respects me enough to beg while sitting on the floor. Plus I never feel guilty about depriving the dog when she has a whole bowl full of food that’s better for her anyway. With Abbie I want to encourage good eating habits and feel compelled to share whatever delicious yet nutritious item I’m consuming in front of her. Unless I have a big bowl of ice cream; that I don’t want to share with her,* which is why I usually go downstairs to eat it, protected behind a baby gate and a flight of stairs that she can’t independently climb down yet.
Most foods I do readily share with her, like my baby carrots. Baby carrots are the last thing I eat for lunch; they’re my dessert after healthy meal.** Yesterday I sat down on the couch with my carrots to enjoy some college football, specifically yesterday’s epic battle between Nebraska and Iowa State. Nebraska won in double overtime because their offense wanted it more, and when I say “their offense” I mean “Iowa State’s offense,” and when I say “wanted it more” I mean “wanted to throw the game away more” because neither offense accomplished much before being given the ball 25 yards from the end zone in overtime.
Not that Abbie cared about the offensive struggle taking place on our television screen. She cared only about the carrots I was hoisting into my mouth. The dog cared only about the carrots I was hoisting into my mouth as well, but true to form the dog stayed on the floor while Abbie attempted to scale my leg. When this situation happened a few months ago, I would hold a carrot out for her to gnaw on while ate the rest in my hand. Her mouth wouldn’t be able to break off any sizable pieces. A couple minutes later I would throw a heavily pockmarked carrot to the dog, and everyone would be happy.
Now her mouth is strong enough to break off sizable pieces, but she hasn’t quite figured out how to chew. This creates a choking hazard, so when I hold out a carrot for her I make sure she breaks off a piece small enough for her to handle. I know she can handle a piece the size of dog food kibble, so that’s my reference point.
I let her take a few bites off the carrot, and soon I held a little kibble-sized nub in my fingers. At that point I simply handed her the carrot thinking she would greedily shove it in her mouth and ask for more. Instead she took it, examined it, turned, and offered it to the dog. The dog in turn greedily snapped it up from her fingers and asked for more.
That was new behavior. I know she throws Tasteeos and vegetables from her high chair onto the floor, which the dog kindly cleans up for me. I always thought she did that for the thrill of watching food hit the floor, not to feed the dog. Maybe I’m wrong; maybe she loves feeding the dog. Maybe next time I give her something tasty, like a cookie or piece of apple, she will simply turn around and offer it to the dog. I just shouldn’t expect that to happen with some of mommy’s Fake Golden Grahams.
* Because it’s unhealthy for her of course, not because it’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with whipped topping and chocolate sauce on top and a warm cookie underneath and I want it all to myself.
** The cookies I eat half an hour later? They’re an afternoon snack.
posted by Matt at
10:12 PM
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