Modeling Good Habits with Play Food...Or Not...

For Christmas just before their second birthday, the girls got a play kitchen. It came with a small assortment of food…but about 1/3 of that went straight in the trash.

We’re so fortunate that our girls eat a very healthy diet. They eat the same dishes that we eat, and they love their fruits and vegetables. It’s not unusual to hear specific requests for Brussels sprouts, or beets, or exclamations such as, “We haven’t had kidney beans in soooo long, Mommy!”

The girls have tasted French fries a time or two, off Daddy’s plate at a restaurant, but we call them “potatoes”. And I’ve offered them a taste of chicken fingers, again off Daddy’s plate, but they spit them out both times.

So, back to the play food, I didn’t want to glamorize some of the foods that were included in their set…pretzels, fries, potato chips, fish sticks…ack!

Over the next few months, I bought a couple of additional sets that I was able to piece together…again throwing away some things…until we had a pretty decent assortment of plastic food. I was particularly excited to have a head of garlic, an artichoke, and an eggplant. And you’d better believe my girlies can whip up some tasty combinations!

Over the past year, I’ve allowed the girls to sample a few more things…things that fit in that teeny-tiny spot on the food pyramid. Particularly if I make a dessert from scratch, I’m fine if they occasionally enjoy a small serving.

I’ve even introduced some packaged items here and there…a couple of pieces of candy corn at Halloween…a handful of M&Ms at Christmas…rationalizing that they are part of our culture, and I’d rather the girls understand from me that a little taste now and again is an OK thing.

While I never grew up eating Peeps, I think Pinterest got me thinking about them this spring. And they are so darn cute with all their colors and adorable little shapes.

Yes…I let my girls have a couple of Peeps this Easter! Actually, they each ate ½ of one Peep, on two separate occasions…as an accompaniment to some wheat crackers and a glass of milk.

So…

What could I not resist when I saw them on markdown after the Easter holiday?

Plush Peeps, that’s what. Are they not The Cutest Little Things???


The girls have been pretending they’re cookies. And so far – as I’ve been holding my breath – they haven’t sparked the girls to ask for any sugar treats.

I Always Knew Dessert was Evil

The girls are no strangers to sugar. On a nice afternoon, I love to take them to the yogurt place for a few spoons of frozen goodness. Or I’ll gladly share with them a couple of bites of a cookie or cake I’ve made. I even let them sample a Kit Kat bar from their Halloween basket (which they scoffed, by the way!).

I have no problem with a sweet bite here or there. I don’t position it as a “treat” per se; I just matter-of-factly offer it to the girls once or twice a week at random. But dessert has never been a standard component of a meal or a day.

At 23 months old, I decided it was finally time I put aside my mess-ophobia and work with the girls on using spoons. I wanted to entice them with something they’d really want to work for, so I gave them each a small bowl of strawberry yogurt (dessert, some might call it) after supper one night last week.

The first night was pretty messy, but they loved the yogurt, and they were definitely motivated to try, try, try again.

The second night, I again gave them yogurt and a spoon, and they did a little better.

By the third night, they were clearly looking forward to the yogurt, asking for it at the beginning of supper. And on a mess-note, I could walk away to grab a paper towel without fear of spoons flying. I was feeling pretty good.

Yesterday, the girls asked for yogurt at BREAKFAST. I told them they could have yogurt AFTER supper. They accepted that…until supper rolled around.

I put some scrumptious chicken on their trays, chicken that they normally devour. Baby B may have taken a couple of bites, but Baby A took one look and whined, “All done!”

Breathing deeply, I went ahead and served up some green beans, a perennial favorite. “All done!” Baby A cried, without so much as a bite.

Breathing even more deeply, I served the girls their fruit. They ate their blackberries and demanded yogurt.

I told the girls we weren’t having yogurt that evening. I offered them their chicken and green beans. When they refused, I took them out of their highchairs and put them in the den to play.

They were not happy.

Every five minutes or so, I offered them their chicken and green beans. After about 15 minutes, they finally relented and sat down to eat the rest of their supper, and all was well with the world.

I think I’m going to lay off the yogurt for a few more days. I hate the thought of that seeming to be their “motivation” to get through the day…the promise of what seems like a sweet treat at the finish line.

I have long thought that dessert was evil, and this just proves it. They’ll just have to learn to eat from a spoon with oatmeal and creamed spinach.