Will you just sit still?
Dinner time has become WrestleMania at the O'Neal household. Dada and I go out of our way to sit down at the table as a family for a meal together most nights of the week. Isaac has long been okay with this tradition...until this week, anyway. First there is the fight with the kicking and screaming and pitiful "noooooo"s all the way to the table. Then once we're at the table, if the dinner is deemed worthy, he will take two, maybe three bites, and either begin screaming (if he's strapped in his high chair) or simply escape (if he's sitting in a big-boy chair). Next comes the chase, where Dada and I take turns doing laps around the kitchen to bring him back to his chair, or I give in and take him onto my lap, where he usually eats a bit more.
Oh, but tonight there was no Dada, as Dada went to frolic at a local pub with the department faculty. There was only me and my pitiful offering of yogurt (1, maybe 1.5 spoonfuls in his mouth), pizza puffs (of which he ate halves of three -- after one bite, their flavor evidently evaporates), and milk (flatly rejected, and then spilled). That he ate at all was the product of the following dance: I sat him in a big-boy chair (zero bites), then sat him on my lap (zero bites), then brought in his pint-sized Isaac table and chair and placed his dinner there (a few bites), and finally sat on the floor at his pint-sized table with him so he might stay in the chair longer (a few more bites). After that I brought him up on my lap again so I could finish eating, and he ate maybe four black beans, you know, to top himself off, before deciding that they and their accompanying corn need to be hurled to the floor, tossed at cat-brother, or better yet, rubbed in Mama's hair. At that point I was so worn out, and the place was such a mess, I decided he could continue to live off of whatever nutrients he's sucking from the atmosphere.
What's a poor mom to do? How can I get the constantly vibrating toddler-monster to sit and chill at least long enough to let me shovel enough food down my throat to appease the child-in-waiting? Or is that simply too much to ask at this juncture?
Oh, but tonight there was no Dada, as Dada went to frolic at a local pub with the department faculty. There was only me and my pitiful offering of yogurt (1, maybe 1.5 spoonfuls in his mouth), pizza puffs (of which he ate halves of three -- after one bite, their flavor evidently evaporates), and milk (flatly rejected, and then spilled). That he ate at all was the product of the following dance: I sat him in a big-boy chair (zero bites), then sat him on my lap (zero bites), then brought in his pint-sized Isaac table and chair and placed his dinner there (a few bites), and finally sat on the floor at his pint-sized table with him so he might stay in the chair longer (a few more bites). After that I brought him up on my lap again so I could finish eating, and he ate maybe four black beans, you know, to top himself off, before deciding that they and their accompanying corn need to be hurled to the floor, tossed at cat-brother, or better yet, rubbed in Mama's hair. At that point I was so worn out, and the place was such a mess, I decided he could continue to live off of whatever nutrients he's sucking from the atmosphere.
What's a poor mom to do? How can I get the constantly vibrating toddler-monster to sit and chill at least long enough to let me shovel enough food down my throat to appease the child-in-waiting? Or is that simply too much to ask at this juncture?
posted by Claire at 6:57 PM
3 Comments:
Oh man - we're having the same problem in our house. Glad to hear we're not alone. Well, not really glad for you... you know what I mean!! Anyhoo, Mo's been a beast at dinner time as well. I'm lucky if I can get her to take 2 or 3 bites before she starts swatting her food away, throwing it, running around, or just throwing a plain ol' temper tantrum. I'm making the big assumption that this is just another one of those phases that will soon pass. (Please oh please make it pass soon!)
Ditto.
Gah. Last night, Benjamin ate three handfuls of shredded cheese for dinner. (we were having tacos)
LOL Sorry to laugh, but that was soo funny. We are having the same problem here. Breakfast, he will eat really good, but lunch and dinner? about 2 bites each meal if we are lucky and I clap and clap after the first bite. Yeah it is hard.
Post a Comment
<< Home