everyday when the kiddos wake up from nap, we have snack time. usually, it falls under the pretzels/cheezits/nilla wafers variety, so there aren't very many complaints. we have a couple kids who never eat anything, but other than that, all of them are pretty good about eating whatever it is that has been chosen for them that day. and they're even pretty good about at least trying the things that we cook with them once a week.
yesterday, we had nutrigrain bars. in the offensive red color (raspberry). apple, they love. raspberry usually gets a lot of complaints.
in fact, one of my boys almost pitched a fit about it. we were about to have a kicking match between said boy and a chair. along with a lot of angry-noise making and tears.
r looked up at me and said: i don't like this color.
me: well, you don't have to eat it, sweetheart, but this is our snack for the day. there isn't another choice (which sounds a little harsh i guess, but that's what we have to tell them or chaos ensues).
**at this point most of them just shrug their shoulders, finish their milk and don't eat it. especially this kid.**
when i look back to see what he did, r is sitting in his chair, happily eating his raspberry nutrigrain bar.
after snack i told him how proud of him i was because he ate the whole thing. he said to me (through a much longer explanation than this): well, 5 year olds like the red one. and i'm five. some four year olds like them too, but mostly just the 5 year olds.
so, i clarified: so, it's because you're 5 that you were able to eat it?
r: yep. because i'm 5, i ate it.
it felt like little r was saying that he's older now so he has to do what the older kids do. which includes eating a red raspberry nutrigrain bar, even if he doesn't really like it.
life lessons here, friends.
**don't get me wrong, though. next time we have the raspberry bars, it won't necessarily matter that he's 5 or that he's eaten it before and enjoyed it. it'll be, "i don't like that color" all over again. but hopefully, it will end just as happily as this moment did.
yesterday, we had nutrigrain bars. in the offensive red color (raspberry). apple, they love. raspberry usually gets a lot of complaints.
in fact, one of my boys almost pitched a fit about it. we were about to have a kicking match between said boy and a chair. along with a lot of angry-noise making and tears.
r looked up at me and said: i don't like this color.
me: well, you don't have to eat it, sweetheart, but this is our snack for the day. there isn't another choice (which sounds a little harsh i guess, but that's what we have to tell them or chaos ensues).
**at this point most of them just shrug their shoulders, finish their milk and don't eat it. especially this kid.**
when i look back to see what he did, r is sitting in his chair, happily eating his raspberry nutrigrain bar.
after snack i told him how proud of him i was because he ate the whole thing. he said to me (through a much longer explanation than this): well, 5 year olds like the red one. and i'm five. some four year olds like them too, but mostly just the 5 year olds.
so, i clarified: so, it's because you're 5 that you were able to eat it?
r: yep. because i'm 5, i ate it.
it felt like little r was saying that he's older now so he has to do what the older kids do. which includes eating a red raspberry nutrigrain bar, even if he doesn't really like it.
life lessons here, friends.
**don't get me wrong, though. next time we have the raspberry bars, it won't necessarily matter that he's 5 or that he's eaten it before and enjoyed it. it'll be, "i don't like that color" all over again. but hopefully, it will end just as happily as this moment did.
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