Because of Reid's super picky-
ness when it comes to food, I have instituted the new dinnertime rule that he must
try a bite of everything on his plate.
Mainly I started this because he does not willingly eat ANY vegetable anymore and has even started to turn away from fruit, which is the last really healthy thing I can count on for him. He has never eaten meat with the exception of pepperoni (which he no longer eats), bacon, bologna, and
vienna sausages (the only one he has eaten with any regularity). Not the healthiest meats you can think of, I know.
Right now he eats some combination of the following things: peanut butter, jelly, crackers, pasta (sometimes), cheese, bread, some fruits, and yogurt. Oh yes, and the
vienna sausages. Now and then I can get him to eat almonds, as well, but it is hit or miss. Did I mention that he is a juice-
aholic?
Carbs and dairy.... he's your man. Anything else? You can stuff it.
So, back to the new rule... I tried not to be too hard core about it because I know that if I push, he will push back harder. But I also was not backing down because he needs to broaden his tastes a little bit.
The other night we had chicken nuggets, corn, and
broccoli cheese rice. (Hey, I'm no chef....) He chugged his drink as usual, ate maybe the equivalent of one nugget and then sat there. I let him know that he needed to try a bite of the other things as well. I specified that he did not need to eat it all, just one bite to see how it tastes. He tried the corn fairly easily, giving a lovely (and oh so dramatic) gagging sound before he spit out the one tiny kernel. Then he sat there some more.
I reminded him about trying the new food (cheese and rice - what's not to love?) and said we could turn the
TV off if we needed to. He looked at me and said "okay" (meaning: "game on, lady"). So, off went the
TV. The rest of us were finishing up so I told him he would not be allowed to get down until he tried a bite. So, he sat there. And sat, and sat, and sat. After about 15 minutes of sitting in the quiet I came over to him and gently - in my friendly mommy voice - picked up the fork and offered him a small bite. He gave a resounding "no." I could tell he meant it.
So, time to up the ante. He likes having choices so I gave him a few choices. 1) try a bite and go play, 2) go upstairs to bed until he was ready to try the new food, or 3) get a spanking. Now, I try not to spank often, but he knows what it is so it is a bargaining chip. Naturally, my child chooses the spanking. He called my bluff, the little punk.
I had no intention of spanking him for this - mainly because I knew it wouldn't help anything - so I said I thought he just needed to go upstairs to bed. He said okay and headed on up like he owned the place.
Ten minutes later I realized he was sound asleep, at 6:30pm. Yikes! I was worried that he would be up at 3am but thankfully he slept until 6am.
This morning, he tried to pull the same stunt with a banana, which used to be a go-to staple of his acceptable foods. After some discussion he said he'd go back upstairs, even though he had only been awake for about 45 minutes. It only took a few minutes for him to come back and eat half the banana so I'll chalk that one up to me.
I know he is getting tired of his 6-8 foods but it's his decision not to try the new things. Surely he'll get past this... right? Someone please tell me he will. If not, I need to go buy some stock in
vienna sausages and jelly.
Ready to go! Reid, Joshua, Bryce, and James. 
Check out the strawberry juice dripping from his chin...
Bryce in his cool shades.
Looking for the perfect berry.
Reid (okay, and I) got to eat the ones that came off without the hull. They were so warm from sitting in the sunshine - so good!
Joshua and Jeannie.
Joshua showing off the goods.
Reid lost interest in the actual picking of the berries pretty quickly, but he stayed close to get those he was allowed to eat.
Juicy, red hands. :)
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