Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Contentment, by P

P likes to hang back and take in all the chaos. He joins in games and make-believe adventures with the others and occasionally is the ringleader of much mischief... but when it all gets to be too much, he is quick to retreat to a quiet, independent game.

He is very sweet to his Mama. Our biggest battle is at the dinner table. My child is a COMPLETE carbaholic. He likes bread, cereal, popcorn and chips. So much so, in fact, that I withhold those things until he eats the more nutritious things...you know like anything involving vitamins or protein.

Sending him to bed hungry doesn't really work because he just eats 2 bowls of cereal in the morning to make up for the loss of dinner. I don't want him to grow up with issues about food, but he is in the 3rd percentile for height and weight. So, most meals involve him still sitting at the table 20 minutes after everyone else has left. Eventually he eats. He just likes to procrastinate.

Tonight, I was preparing to take K & R upstairs and said, "P, please eat your chicken so you can grow big and strong."

To which he replied as truthfully as you can imagine, "But, Mommy, I really like bein' the size I am. It's how God made me."

What's a Mama to say to that?

7 comments:

Momma-of-5 said...

How classic is that? My son is the same way. It's not even a carb thing. He just doesn't like to eat dinner. He seems to be an "average" size, but is driving this Momma NUTS! He'll eat 3-5 bowls of cereal in the morning...

The ONLY thing that's gotten him to eat chicken is when I tell him his muscles need to get harder...like rocks...not like marshmallows.

Kris said...

That is so, so sweet (P's comment) - We could all take a lesson from that outlook!

Aubrey said...

How is it that the three year old population can outwit us so easily?

GE is me said...

Oh my gosh! Don't you just love this age & the wonderful things they say! They absolutely crack me up. Tonite @ dinner someone said something(don't remember what it was)& I shouldn't have been laughing, but I did.
Bad mommy, (slaps wrist) bad mommy.
I just couldn't help myself.
Truly out of the mouths of babes.
God Bless, -Gail

Courtney said...

Oh man, my heart just swooned for him :) That is the most precious thing ever! You have taught them so well...

Not much advice as for the eating thing though sorry...my kids love fruits thankfully. I try to get as much other stuff in them as I can. Have you tried hiding it IN the carbs?

Anonymous said...

I've got one the same way - hardly ever eats anything at dinner time. Last night out of chicken, rice, green beans and salad all he would eat was salad - and lots of it! At least it was healthy with veggies in it. But I sure wish some of the chicken would have made it into his mouth.

Mindy said...

That is priceless!