Last weekend we enjoyed a trip to my parents house. I don't know if you experience this, but Jovi's grandparents feel it is their earthly duty to feed him... anything. From chips to honey it is all fair game with the grandparents. What I love the most is how they ask if he can have it when I catch them feeding it to him. Or, even better, we are at a dinner. I glance at my dad who has a chocolate chip cookie inching its way towards Jovi's open mouth. My dad's eyes meet mine staring at him... he asks "can he have it?". Jovi's big brown eyes fixed on the cookie, drool coming down his chin...
In today's time there is very little we can truly control with our kids. Sometimes I wonder if food is a sure way to feel like we are doing our best, passing parenthood. The problem with this is when we don't serve up the healthiest meal or snack, are we doing our worst, failing? Sometimes this all or nothing thinking just feels right... well it is either all right or all wrong, right?
As we were leaving my parent's house and readying ourselves for a 6 hour drive, I realized Jovi needed to eat dinner. My mom had 2 options. Spaghetti or pizza. Hmm. My mother, God bless her, wasn't exactly sure how old the pasta was, so we went with the pizza. "Am I a bad mom for giving him pizza for dinner?" It was a rhetorical question. I didn't want a response because in my distorted head I had already answered it. My mom earnestly replies "no, you are a good mom for feeding him pizza for dinner".
Perhaps uber healthy food is like discipline... too much of a good thing can be, not as good. I watched (and heard) Jovi enjoy every bite of that pizza... dirty tomatoes, gluten infested crust, and all. This was not his first go with a big slice of greasy pizza.. nor was it mine with guilt watching him eat it. But to my mom, its a pretty whole food... "It's just bread, tomatoes, and cheese" she asserts.
I am learning that parenting is about give and take, not pass or fail.
In today's time there is very little we can truly control with our kids. Sometimes I wonder if food is a sure way to feel like we are doing our best, passing parenthood. The problem with this is when we don't serve up the healthiest meal or snack, are we doing our worst, failing? Sometimes this all or nothing thinking just feels right... well it is either all right or all wrong, right?
As we were leaving my parent's house and readying ourselves for a 6 hour drive, I realized Jovi needed to eat dinner. My mom had 2 options. Spaghetti or pizza. Hmm. My mother, God bless her, wasn't exactly sure how old the pasta was, so we went with the pizza. "Am I a bad mom for giving him pizza for dinner?" It was a rhetorical question. I didn't want a response because in my distorted head I had already answered it. My mom earnestly replies "no, you are a good mom for feeding him pizza for dinner".
Perhaps uber healthy food is like discipline... too much of a good thing can be, not as good. I watched (and heard) Jovi enjoy every bite of that pizza... dirty tomatoes, gluten infested crust, and all. This was not his first go with a big slice of greasy pizza.. nor was it mine with guilt watching him eat it. But to my mom, its a pretty whole food... "It's just bread, tomatoes, and cheese" she asserts.
I am learning that parenting is about give and take, not pass or fail.
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