
 |
|
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
June 13, 2007
/ 27 Sivan, 5767
You gonna eat that?
By
Malcolm Fleschner
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"What can be done to convince young children to eat healthy foods?"
For centuries this question has stymied philosophers - the ones with children, anyway. Yet today we are no closer to a definitive answer, as the received wisdom of generations seems to boil down to, "Um, I don't know, maybe make choo-choo noises while you slip a forkful into their mouths?"
In my house we have three preschool-age children who exhibit varying levels of disdain for the food my wife and I put in front of them. These days my 3-year-old most consistently disapproves of anything new that appears on his plate. Not wanting to appear inflexible, however, he does generously suggest that we replace the offensive fare we've offered in favor of a stack of pancakes. He does this at every meal.
When this picky behavior first emerged, I had some success in persuading him to at least taste of new foods, typically by smiling and offering an enthusiastic, "Just try it - I promise you'll like it!" Sadly, I lost any food-related credibility I had established after the incident my children now refer to only as "Lima Bean-gate."
As a result, my son is now instantly suspicious of any unfamiliar food, even desserts. Narrowing his eyes, he shifts his gaze between his plate and me, like a character in a spy novel wondering what his food might be laced with. "Come on," I exclaim in frustration, "It's good. It's chocolate pudding, for crying out loud. I'm not trying to poison you!"
Despite these mealtime frustrations, my wife and I refuse to force our kids to eat anything. We both recall with horror countless childhood hours spent glumly staring at meals that we suspected came directly out of our parents' copies of "The Joy of Cooking (Meals Your Children Will Hate)." Having been instructed that I couldn't leave the table before my food was all gone, I always honored the letter - if not the spirit - of the law. Thousands of years from now, archaeologists sifting through the rubble of my mother's house will likely conclude that late 20th-century Americans shored up their homes by filling every baseboard crack with pieces of overcooked, rubberized meat.
When coercion didn't work, another popular tactic was applying guilt. "Eat your dinner - there are starving children in Africa," we were told. Of course my sister and I always responded enthusiastically, squealing, "Oh goody! Another mealtime lecture on the harmful effects of an unstable global economic system, unseasonably low levels of rainfall and other factors leading to the tragic malnutrition afflicting sub-Saharan Africa!" Concerned, thoughtful children that we were, we readily suggested boxing up our meals for immediate shipment to the hardest-hit areas.
Surprisingly, my mother never took us up on these acts of selflessness, which was just as well. "You're right, Mom," I would say, imagining a village of hungry African children clambering to open a shipment of food, expecting rice or grains, only to be confronted with a Corningware flower print dish filled with my mother's green bean casserole. "Those kids have suffered enough already."
Many parents today, weary of fighting these mealtime battles, just give in and just let kids choose their own menus. These parents serve an important societal function - namely, making the rest of us feel better about our own halfhearted parenting. Because while I might in rare instances allow a cereal into my home that lists "sugar," "high fructose corn syrup" and "more sugar" as the three primary ingredients, I can still take pride in knowing that I draw the line at feeding my children a breakfast consisting of, say, a bowl of Doritos swimming in Yoo Hoo.
Advertisers are, naturally, all too eager to help parents rationalize making these nutritional concessions. That's why you might see an ad referring to a cereal consisting of miniature marshmallows with cookie dough centers as "part of this complete breakfast." Look at the ad a little more closely, however, and you'll notice that the cereal bowl is surrounded by a large glass of orange juice, a plate of fresh fruit, a dozen multivitamins and a bushel of Brussels sprouts (not pictured) while the breakfasting child appears to be running on a treadmill. By this standard, what wouldn't qualify as part of a "complete breakfast?" A Twinkie? Cheetos? A pack of Marlboros?
Now, as a result of my children's adamant refusal to try new foods, I have fallen back on that most shopworn of parental strategies, reverse psychology. "If you don't want it, that just means more for me," I'll say, popping the spurned carrots, asparagus, peas or broccoli into my mouth, hoping they'll stop me, which they never do.
Ah well, at least someone in our household is eating healthy.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Malcolm Fleschner is a humor columnist for The DC Examiner. Let him know what you think by clicking here.
Previously:
05/08/07:That's disinter-tainment
05/02/07:You Are (not) Getting Sleepy...
04/18/07: No time like Father Time
03/15/07: Deface the Nation
03/08/07: More gifts? You shouldn't have
02/22/07: Relationships can be such a chore
12/05/06: Who's calling the shots?
11/09/06: I'm taking selling to a whole new level
10/27/06: Some skills are beyond repair
10/18/06: You can't tech it with you
10/04/06: Award to the wise
08/24/06: Phrased and Confused
08/09/06: We're Gonna Party Like it's $19.99
07/19/06: Just Singing in the Brain
05/24/06: Who says you can't go home again?
05/11/06: When nightly news stories go off script
04/26/06: Cents and sensibility: A thought for your pennies
03/16/06: The day the Muzak died
02/23/06: Checkbook diplomacy begins at home
02/15/06: Today's toys: Where learning means earning
© 2006, Malcolm Fleschner
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
Matt Davies
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|