As the school year approaches, I’m somehow feeling compelled to become Serious Conscientious Mom, rather than Whatever It’s Summer Mom.
First and foremost, I’m starting to get worried about my son’s diet. He loves fruit and chicken, fat-free baloney and eggs, yes.
But he also likes Ramen noodles (had at a friend’s house), Fiber One bars (my fault), Lunchables (school chum), Chef Boyardee (friend’s house) and french fries (everywhere).
And have you ever noticed that the only thing restaurants have on their kids’ menu is chicken tenders? Served with fries? He hates burgers and can’t have milk products, so anytime we go out, he wants chicken tenders. He’s actually grown tired of them himself, it seems, preferring to eat the fries, drink his juice and ask for a snack later.
Sigh.
This child is by no means in danger of becoming obese. You can see his ribs when he moves. He looks like he’s standing on broomsticks.
Now, I refuse to force him to clean his plate. In my mind, the amount I give him on said plate is arbitrary. I have no idea how hungry he is. If he wants to push the plate away after eating half of it, that’s fine.
I do usually insist on half, withholding his beloved fruit and “treat” until he’s ingested some form of protein.
But I’d really like him to expand his horizons, so I’m looking for ideas.
This one for Pizza Rolls looks like a great way to hide stuff like small diced vegetables, tomato sauce and meat. I’ll just leave out the cheese. Maybe it will look like fun to him.
Which would be fun for me.