During the girls’ second summer, when they were about 18
months old, my goal was to have them eating an entire meal in a restaurant
(without me bringing food from home).
Check!
During the girls’ third summer, when they were 2 ½, my goal
was to have them sitting in regular chairs at restaurants, eating from regular
plates (such that I wouldn’t have to pack a huge bag with highchair covers and
disposable placemats). Check!
And on tap since then?
Moving away from highchairs at home.
You may know I have been resisting this change. I promise it’s not – as some have suggested
(Husband!) – that I want to keep them babies forever and ever (although if I
could, I might). No, it’s just that
mealtimes have been downright pleasant at our house for a long time. The girls settle down in their seats, remain
focused on their meals, and it gives me 20 minutes of “peace”, not having to
worry who’s scaling the blinds.
Still, this is our girls’ fourth summer. They’re 3 ½.
They probably need to work towards shedding the highchair stigma at
least by Kindergarten. Right???
You may recall that we made an attempt at booster seats a
couple of months ago. The seats we
bought weren’t compatible with our kitchen chairs, though…so I took that as a
sign from above that our girls should continue to eat in their highchairs.
Fast forward to last week, when the girls’ friend K came to
play for a couple of hours and joined us for lunch. We all sat at the table (since I didn’t want
to strap the girls in their highchairs while their friend – who is their exact
same age – got to eat alongside Mommy and Daddy).
As they have been doing in restaurants for over a year, the
girls did fine.
And you know what???
The next day, I just set their places at the table...no boosters, no cushions, no straps…and they’ve been
there ever since!
You know, I might have a tendency to over-think things.
And my modus operandi is usually to assume the
very worst situation (usually involving the girls swinging from the
chandelier).
And…again…I have been reminded over the past week…sometimes
it’s OK to just DO something. The worst
doesn’t always happen.
And…our girls are big girls, and they’re smart girls. Those highchairs are still sitting right
there, and they seem to understand that sitting at the table is a privilege. If they misbehave and act like babies, they’ll
go back to their baby chairs.
There are times when I owe my girls more credit.
Noted, girls. Noted.
And how very nice it is to eat around our table as a family of four!!!
7 comments:
Oh I do love these "onwards and upwards" moments in our lives. All the best for great family eating.
Awesome!!! Way to go Girls...I mean Mama!!! ;)
Woohooo! Yay for moving to big girl chairs!
Yeah, I think the babies growing kinda creeps up on us. Yay! for the sitting down at the table to eat as a family. I can't wait to get there
We've gotten around to setting the chairs aside too. I just don't think I'm ready to part with them. So glad you're enjoying more family centered time!
Go, Mandy!! Sometimes it's fun to let go of the overthinking and just see what happens. That's pretty much how I live! : )
Your girls seem to be very responsible and well-behaved...I am sure they will enjoy their new privilege!
Way to go! It is nice to sit together at the table as a family. It's always when we doubt our kids that they prove us wrong. Little stinkers.
Post a Comment