My sweet 9 year old spends every afternoon at his best friend's house. His friend's mom, Mrs C, is as close to a miracle worker as anyone I've ever met. She can get my pickiest eater to try anything. I've begged her to share her secret, but she just smiles and shrugs. "I just ask him if he wants to try a bit," she says.
There's no way it's that easy. I live with this kid and I know that he won't even try the aroma of new food without giving me a look that clearly says he's sure he's about to be poisoned. (For the record, I've never poisoned anyone that I know of. I'm pretty sure I would know that....right?)
I had no idea that she had secret super powers until he came home and said, "Have you ever tried calamari? Did you know it's squid? Mrs C fed me some and it was so good. Is that meatloaf for dinner? With mashed potatoes? I'm not eating that. It's weird."
A week later, he said, "Did you know that duck is good? I ate some at Mrs C's house. She fed us a snack of duck with a salad. Is that chicken with rice? No thanks. It's weird." (She feeds them salad for a snack and the kids love it. I tried that once. Nothing doing over here).
The next week it was shrimp that he'd helped to clean. Then she got him to eat sushi. He's tried alligator and moose at her house and loved them. (Her husband goes hunting all over the country.)
He returns to our house, lifts the lid off the pot, crinkles his nose at the perfectly normal and delicious dinner I've made and sighs. (I really am a good cook. Other people have said so. It's not just me.)
I wish I knew her trick. There has to be more to it than she asks him. I ask him too, but for me the answer is no. Maybe it's the magic air on the other side of the creek. Maybe it's that she is kind and nobody would ever accuse her of poisoning people. (I swear...I never have. What have you heard?) Maybe it's that....I don't know.
I just know that I'm sending all of my picky eaters to her house to eat, and I'm going to be peeking in the windows.
8 comments:
I just can't wait to hear what you see when you go for a peak. Wow! I was sort of like that, only I was not a picky eater but my friends parents enjoyed feeding me things THEIR kids would not eat. Sometimes it is in the air...it seems daring and intriguing and "better" at someone else's house. Sounds like your picky eater is really social and will do great in school. He aims to please and is, actually, quite daring.
Love this story.
Our current youngest goes to a babysitter twice a week. This is the first time I've had a child under 3 in someone else's care during the day. Anyway, his babysitter raves about how well he eats. My husband and I are always wondering just WHAT it is that she serves him that he eats so well....but it's the same ol' story. Eats it there, refuses it here. *sigh* Glad I'm not the only one.
Raised polite kids?
My family never had picky kids... but we never knew it was an option....
She's not Mom. Also, ditto to all 3 of Foxfier's statements.
In his defense, he's normally my most polite child. He just refuses to eat anything that he thinks is "weird."
I'm thinking that not eating my cooking is a phase....otherwise he's going to starve in Dallas.
Same here. Zoe will eat all sorts of things when we're visiting a particular family we know, yet I'm hard pushed to get her to eat anything other than plain pasta, rice or noodles. She refuses sauce on the pasta or any kind of meat from me, yet has eaten pasta with sauce and all sorts of meaty things when in their house. I don't get it!
Maybe he has a crush on Mrs. C? -Loretta
Gotta love our Kids...
On the Bright side...
At least he makes YOU Look Good by Eating and Trying it all at Mrs. C's ;)
Post a Comment