Snuggle Bunnies

Non-Picky Kids

I just made a post on Facebook about non-picky kids and it got moms talking!

Since people are asking...

what worked for us, so far:

-modeling. I was a grown woman before I knew my Mom did not like green peppers and my Dad did not like beets. They were both served regularly on our table, but neither parent ever said anything about not liking them. If you don't like something, just hush, skip it and move on.

-serve a variety of food ON THEIR PLATE. Yes, you know the kid will probably not eat cole slaw, but he'll definitely never try it if it's not even on his plate. Put tiny taster portions of everything on their plate.

-train them to taste everything on their plate. We have a house rule that you taste everything, this has always been the rule, they now do it without being asked. Tastes change as you grow, and studies show it can take 10 times of tasting to learn to like a new food. Even if they didn't like it yesterday, they still taste it today.

-don't buy kids' meals at restaurants. It trains a kid to always eat chicken nuggets and fries, every restaurant has them. Order from the regular menu, so for example at a Mexican place, get them rice and beans, or order a little extra for yourself and share a plate. It's cheaper too!

-teach gratitude. It goes without saying that there are millions in this world who go to bed hungry each night, yet we complain that there are onions in the casserole. Be thankful you get to eat today and teach that to your children.

-breastfeed your baby. Breastmilk tastes differently each day depending on what mama has eaten, yet formula tastes the same every day.

-indulge preferences, but not demands that change the entire family's plan. For example, SJ likes her milk warm or room temperature. She still gets milk like everyone else, her milk is just warm.

Mealtime is relaxed and easy now that our kids eat what they're given with gratitude. B was difficult to teach between ages 3 and 4, but he's been taught now and eats a good variety without complaint. He even eats sushi! SJ thankfully eats anything except cold food, understandably as she had never had anything cold until 10 months ago. She'll eat things traditionally served cold here in the US, she just waits for it to warm up a little!

Today's Rant- Dirt is GOOD FOR YOU!

If you don't believe me, read this article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27brod.html?_r=1&em
"Dr. Weinstock goes even further. “Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat,” he said. He and Dr. Elliott pointed out that children who grow up on farms and are frequently exposed to worms and other organisms from farm animals are much less likely to develop allergies and autoimmune diseases."
Interesting antecdote: While in Ethiopia to pick up our daughter, I noticed how silly Americans can be with our obsession with germs. One of the parents was feeding raisins to her new child, a child who just months earlier was living in a mud hut with a dirt floor. A raisin fell on the immaculate marble floor of the Guest House, the mother said, "Oooh, yuck, let's not eat that!"
I've also noticed that my friends and family who often use sanitizer and are "germ freaks", have children who are constantly sick with something or other. Thankfully, my filthy children who live in my filthy house are rarely sick. I remember B being sick 3 times in his 6 yrs and SJ has not been sick once since she arrived home 10 months ago.
Rant over. :)

Learning to Communicate

In the 9 months since SJ has been home, she has become fluent in English. Within 1 month home, she could obviously understand what we were saying, within 2 months, she was conversing back and forth. Within 3 months, she was fluent. By fluent, I mean she was babbling to herself in English, talking quickly without thinking of words, and learning new concepts like the alphabet, colors and numbers. By 6 months, I didn't think or notice much about her English as it was second nature to her and the family.
Here we are at 9 months home and SJ is a talkbox! She talks constantly and asks what you are doing at each step. I think her inquisitive nature has helped her learn faster. Her great communication skills were present yesterday when I was writing our grocery list. SJ said, "Mommy, you making words on paper?" So since she did not know the word "write", she was still able to communicate effectively and learn a new word too. "Yes honey, I am writing on paper."
Cross-cultural adoption means the child will most likely be losing their native language and learning a new one. It is quite sad to think that she will not speak Hadiya, but the speed of her learning is a delight to watch. The difficulty of the first months fade away as your child's communication grows and the family bonds.

Snow Fort pt 1

SuperDaddy and the kids built this snow fort with a brick mold we found in the Target clearance aisle. They worked on it until dark and came in for Mommy's hot chocolate and to sit by the fire. This was a surprise snowfall for us, and it has been so fun!

They're planning on finishing it tomorrow...

HAIR!

SJ's hair has grown so much in the year since we received her referral picture (see a few posts below). This is her hair combed out before I braided and beaded it, so cute!

Not only has her hair grown, but she's grown 6 inches and gained 10lbs in the past year too. Wow.