Toddlers, Feed Thyselves
The boys are 18-months-old. It’s time for them to step up in this household and accept a little responsibility. They’ve already taken strides toward independence with their mastery of holding sippy cups and peeing only when covered by a diaper. It’s time for them to add another job to their repertoire. Specifically, we’re making them feed themselves. I can’t always be around to help them, and even if could, I doubt they’d want me embarrassing them in front of their college roommates like that.
I responded to several cues in making this decision. First, I realized that I could save some time by running around the kitchen while they feed themselves instead of sitting down to spoon-feed them and running around the kitchen afterwards. That gets me out of the kitchen sooner after mealtime so they can more efficiently scream at me while I’m sitting on the couch instead of standing at the sink. More importantly, they seem ready. They’ve mastered the pincer grasp, they’re trying to use utensils, and they know they can dispose of any food they don’t like by giving it to the dog. Plus, they don’t like oatmeal anymore, and oatmeal was one of the last messy foods I’ve been feeding them.
A couple weeks ago, I left the long-handled spoons in the drawer, brought out the short spoons, and let them do what had been my work. Breakfast has been the easiest meal. I’ve left the oatmeal in the cupboard and poured a mound of cereal on their tray instead. They self-feed themselves the kibble, wash it down with milk, and I escape mostly mess free, although I have been finding frosted flakes embedded in my socks recently. Just because no meal can be totally mess free, I’ve been giving them banana for breakfast as well, but fortunately they haven’t discovered the joys of smooshing it yet.
Lunch is usually the messiest meal because I insist on giving them yogurt. I make it easier to eat by adding torn bread chunks to it to thicken it and give the pincers something to grasp, but they make a giant mess. Giving a child a vat of yogurt and checking the spread radius would be a great way to check the child’s flexibility. I’ve learned to accept the mess by relaxing my mealtime standards and removing their shirts before they sit. I insisted that Abbie remain fully clothed when she started eating. When I discovered that every shirt in her wardrobe was eternally tainted with at least two flavors of yogurt, I realized it wasn’t worth it, and I could teach manners later. Ever since, my kids have been topless for messy meals at home until they’ve proven they can stay clean.
Abbie can usually stay clean now for an estimated 60% of meals, and her messes aren’t usually too bad, so she stays fully clothed for meals. She still hasn’t mastered spaghetti, though, but she compensates for this deficiency by refusing to eat it. The boys have no such qualms and usually dive into it, as they’ve done for the past couple of nights. They eschew the spoon and shove handfuls of it into their mouths. When their fingers are too coated with sauce, they wipe their hands on whatever surface is handy, such as their trays, their hair, or their dog’s tongue.
Other suppers are less messy. They stay cleaner for macaroni and cheese, though that may only appear that way since the cheese sauce is more translucent. Taco meat coated with cheese makes a good toddler meal. Chicken nuggets work well, although they insist on shoving the whole thing in their mouths at once. They need to stop that since I can’t always be around to administer the Heimlich maneuver.
I responded to several cues in making this decision. First, I realized that I could save some time by running around the kitchen while they feed themselves instead of sitting down to spoon-feed them and running around the kitchen afterwards. That gets me out of the kitchen sooner after mealtime so they can more efficiently scream at me while I’m sitting on the couch instead of standing at the sink. More importantly, they seem ready. They’ve mastered the pincer grasp, they’re trying to use utensils, and they know they can dispose of any food they don’t like by giving it to the dog. Plus, they don’t like oatmeal anymore, and oatmeal was one of the last messy foods I’ve been feeding them.
A couple weeks ago, I left the long-handled spoons in the drawer, brought out the short spoons, and let them do what had been my work. Breakfast has been the easiest meal. I’ve left the oatmeal in the cupboard and poured a mound of cereal on their tray instead. They self-feed themselves the kibble, wash it down with milk, and I escape mostly mess free, although I have been finding frosted flakes embedded in my socks recently. Just because no meal can be totally mess free, I’ve been giving them banana for breakfast as well, but fortunately they haven’t discovered the joys of smooshing it yet.
Lunch is usually the messiest meal because I insist on giving them yogurt. I make it easier to eat by adding torn bread chunks to it to thicken it and give the pincers something to grasp, but they make a giant mess. Giving a child a vat of yogurt and checking the spread radius would be a great way to check the child’s flexibility. I’ve learned to accept the mess by relaxing my mealtime standards and removing their shirts before they sit. I insisted that Abbie remain fully clothed when she started eating. When I discovered that every shirt in her wardrobe was eternally tainted with at least two flavors of yogurt, I realized it wasn’t worth it, and I could teach manners later. Ever since, my kids have been topless for messy meals at home until they’ve proven they can stay clean.
Abbie can usually stay clean now for an estimated 60% of meals, and her messes aren’t usually too bad, so she stays fully clothed for meals. She still hasn’t mastered spaghetti, though, but she compensates for this deficiency by refusing to eat it. The boys have no such qualms and usually dive into it, as they’ve done for the past couple of nights. They eschew the spoon and shove handfuls of it into their mouths. When their fingers are too coated with sauce, they wipe their hands on whatever surface is handy, such as their trays, their hair, or their dog’s tongue.
Other suppers are less messy. They stay cleaner for macaroni and cheese, though that may only appear that way since the cheese sauce is more translucent. Taco meat coated with cheese makes a good toddler meal. Chicken nuggets work well, although they insist on shoving the whole thing in their mouths at once. They need to stop that since I can’t always be around to administer the Heimlich maneuver.
posted by Matt at
11:52 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home