New Week, New Trick

Back in January I shared one of my strategies for encouraging the boys to try foods that are sitting on their plates. The "Oh Wow!" bite bit still works wonders...usually. R has inherited his dad's critical reasoning and skills of deduction, which he is starting to use at the dinner table. He will begin to rationalize why he doesn't want to eat a certain food. For instance: R: Mom, you see, I like tomatoes when they are in a pizza or pasta sauce, but when they aren't cooked, I can't eat them. Me: R, those tomatoes are cooked R: Oh, well...I don't think they are cooked all the way *and* they aren't in small enough pieces. Me (looking at his food): R, there isn't even a tomato in that bite! R: But it touched that tomato! Me: (sigh) But now I have a new approach for my slightly competitive son and the above situation. Instead of trying to reason with him, I give him a friendly, loving challenge. I say to R, "I will give you three taste test challenge bites. Let's see if you can tell which bites have tomatoes and which do not!" R loves this game. By the time we do a few bites, he doesn't even remember that he was opposed to the tomatoes and usually ends up eating a decent meal. Try it, I hope it works for you and your kids too! SPC