UGH, so yes, my kids are picky eaters..............we know this, we hate this, we try to resolve it, but I am constantly up against a wall.
Tonight, I had made shnitzel for the boys (ages 5 and 7). The younger one especially usually loves shnitzel and begs to have it every night. It's an easy thing to make for them too, seeing that I gave up making fresh shnitzel a while ago when they started refusing it, I now buy the frozen stuff, throw in the toaster and 10 minutes later, voila!
So tonight the little guy took one look at the shnitzel and started to cry that he didn't want shnitzel....he wanted plain spaghetti with red sauce. I had not made spaghetti, and I told him that he could have spaghetti TOMORROW after school, but tonight his choices were shnitzel or rice/beans (magadra), or tofu stirfry...... he moved his tantrum to the floor.
And just then hubby came home from work, and he cried L O U D E R !!! I calmly explained again what his options were and he continued to cry. I told him we were going to go take his shower then would come back and see if he changed his mind. He was still crying, didn't want to hear any of it, until.................yes, do you see this one coming..............hubby offers him an apple or a yogurt. The crying stopped, the tears stopped, and
YES< I WANT A YOGURT! he says, and I silently lost it.
I got up in protest, gave my own bowl of rice a bit of a harsh placement on the counter and huffed out of the room. HE JUST DOESN'T GET IT!!! How the Heck does he think these kids are EVER going to get it if 3 minutes after I put my foot down he's always going to be right behind me offering a better choice? Doesn't he get that not only will they think next time that NO does not mean NO, but that he has TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY undermined my credibility with them. Once again................I'm the bad guy who makes them cry and he's the good guy who rescues them.
It's a constant battle...........and for two people who are usually so in sync as people say, I'm so sick of his feeling guilty that he works so much.......get over it already and stop SPOILING THEM!
ok, thanks for listening to the vent.........
