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| At 1 + year this is how feeding emotions of the baby were. |
In the above collage, our boss baby's feeding cycle used to be like this everyday :
(read from L to R)
(read from L to R)1.) Looks like it is feeding time again
2.) How can I escape
3.) Omg she expects me to eat all of it. This mental woman
4.) I must think of a new tantrum or at least act as if I am choking
5.) Oh! I think I tried it already . She will not fall for it. Now do I have to eat it all??
6.) Or should I just sit here and test her patience!
7.) She says that it's play time only if I finish the food. Looks like there is no way out
8.)O.K. you bribe and I bribe! we are good.
I didn't repent TV watching much coz Zaara learnt a lot watching the TV. Alphabets, rhymes, small words, numbers etc. (chuchu tv, Dave and ava, baby JJ were few favorites). It was all good till she started watching Disney princesses - shows and movies. That felt troublesome to me. Damsel in distress and Prince charming coming to rescue her or to put her out of misery with his love. The same pattern shown in many of the Disney princess stories put me off and my daughter was getting used to them...They are beautiful to watch but I was feeling she must watch at least stories of strong girls!
That's when I turned on Moana and I didn't repent it. The character Moana is so strong and inspiring, the story can be enjoyed in equal amounts by both adults and kids, even the songs and BGM of Moana are quite addictive. She just fell in love with the movie, the characters, music and every thing. We used to play Moana during temperamental days to just make her eat. She obliges when a favorite movie or song plays. At 2 years 2 months she started going to play group and she got wings to her imagination and enjoyed every bit of it (this was before COVID) in Apr 2019. "Except food, the girl loves every thing," teachers said! I used to daily listen on how tough it is for them to feed Z. After a long struggle of 2-3 months she adjusted and started eating finger foods / snacks all by herself and teachers informed it is not much like before!
I did a jig... what more would any mother need? However the tantrums continued at home and Moana and some other favorite cartoons were my only saviors! She loved the character so much that she wanted to dress up like her. On Halloween day I made her wear Moana costume (even if she is not a witch) and just made her hold a witch's broom instead of an oar. She still loves the costume!
We later moved on to Tangled, Frozen and many more movies but Moana remains an all time favorite. On present day also she doesn't eat by herself not because she can't, just because she won't :( When she was just getting hang of things - COVID happened (when she was 3) .
Feeding fight is nothing less than a WWF wrestling match at my home. Recently I trained her so that she eats at least breakfast and snacks on her own. I am trying my best to not let her blackmail me with tv and reduced the tv watch hrs...but wars keep erupting!
I am participating in Blogging from A-Z challenge 2022 and this is my F post. I am taking up this challenge after many years as I feel I have lot to talk about Covid life and the daughter diaries during this Pandemic!
Some interesting blogs I recommend:
We had the same problem. Later we found out asking the right question. J (Our daughter).. we used to ask ..you want to eat? Answer always NO. Then after lot of struggle we changed our questioning. J. You want to eat sambar sadham or rasam sadham. J Replied I will eat rasam sadham because I hate sambar sadham. OK come and eat rasam sadham. J sat down and ate
ReplyDeleteAmazing article. Loved each and every bit of this!
ReplyDeleteGood one
ReplyDeleteYou are on a tough journey. Good thing Moana is helping out at least partly.
ReplyDeleteMy son was a good eater, but a very bad sleeper. No fun either. Well, he's a teenager now, and guess what... ;-)
Haha as a fussy eater myself this post was very interesting to me
ReplyDeleteAh, Afshan, I was smiling as I read your post.I walked down the memory lane with feeding my daughter who was also a fussy eater;-). I tried doing everything. Tv, toys, taking her out to feed. Finally I started reading stories to her from books during meal time. That did help. She slowly settled down to moderate eating habits, once she was about 5-6 years. Till then it was such a challenge :)
ReplyDeleteHonest writing! I heart you.. I remember feeding times with my daughter who is now a toddler mommy herself. Dont worry. This phase will pass soon! Stopping by via the AtoZ master list! Happy blogging!
ReplyDeleteI hear you. Been there twice! Parenting is tough and no matter what you do, you'll always be judged. I always say, do what YOU feel is best for your child. Because all children are different and not one size fits all.
ReplyDeleteShe's so cute. I just have cats and a dog, and they're always happy to eat. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hear you when you say: "Feeding fight is nothing less than a WWF wrestling match". Luckily my children loved eating as much as I do:) They're adults now.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your love and 'jigs' will help your little angel to enjoy her food. They grow up so quickly, too. Hang in there:)
What adorable photos. I loved your imaginings of what your daughter was thinking. Wishing you good luck in finding new strategies, but above all remember this won't last forever.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteFeisty wee Female you have! YAM xx
Haye ram! Luckily I never had such issues with my girls. The only thing was that my elder one would roam all over the house while eating. I would go around behind her with a bowl! It is indeed difficult to cut down on TV in such circumstances. Hope Z will improve as she grows up.
ReplyDeleteRather you than me...
ReplyDeleteBeen there , done that ...But your way of putting it up with is fun and adorable. Really really liked your post . It's so relatable 👍👍😇👌👌👌🏆🏆🥇
ReplyDeleteAND YOUR DAUGHTER IS SOOOO CUTE 😍 💕 💖
ReplyDeleteMoana is really very cool!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat choice kiddo!
You should also watch Enchanto!
ReplyDeleteNo damsel in distress in this one either!
It's a very beautiful movie and loads of good songs as well!!!
So reminded of my youngest (daughter). I could never tell if it was taste or texture but it was not until she was in her 20s did she finally start eating food - other than a very few selections.
ReplyDeleteYour Moana is a beautiful girl who has an extra ordinary mama!
Thanks for your comment today - always makes me smile.
Some kids are gourmet eaters from the start, others have select foods they’ll eat and usually while grazing, not sitting down to eat. It can be a challenge.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from A to Z: https://cassmobfamilyhistory.com
What does her doctor say? My kids ate. No problem with that. They were picky with what they ate but if I made them food they liked they had a great appetite. Good luck with it. I would imagine it is frustrating.
ReplyDeleteBetty
Your post took me back in the day when my son was young and my struggles with him. Loved the post :D
ReplyDeleteGo Moana! Awesome film. Best of luck with the eating wars.
ReplyDeleteI was an incredibly fussy eater as a child, but it was more that I didn't like a lot of foods, rather than I didn't like eating. Our little village primary school actually started to allow packed lunches because my twin and I point blank refused to eat the school lunches ;). These days I'm a bit of a foodie - how things change.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings: YouTube - What They Don't Tell You (and free fiction)
I can only suggest have patience - time is the best healer.
ReplyDeleteCan so much relate to points 1 through 8. I enjoyed reading this. Sweet pictures. :-D
ReplyDeleteI just didn't like to eat anything until I was about 8. None of my kids were fussy eaters, but the grandkids... I am sure your daughter will grow into eating.
ReplyDeleteHere from A to Z https://findingeliza.com/
My son ate well during the baby food stage, but as soon as he started on regular food, he got pickier and pickier! He basically ate about five foods (chicken legs, hamburgers, pizza, beans of any kind, potatoes) until he graduated from college, went to medical school, and met his now-wife, who got him to eat things we NEVER could have! I tell my preschoolers' parents who are worried about their eating habits that my son grew to be 6'4" without eating any fruit (didn't even like it much as a baby) and very few vegetables, so don't stress too much!
ReplyDeleteI realized that about Disney movies too. Contrary to how much I loved those Disney princesses in my growing up years, now the more we see them, the more the "damsel in distress" and "need to be rescued" and all that stand out. A lot of typical stereotypes too. Moana was amazing. Defying in several ways. Merida too from the movie Brave. Do watch that one too if possible.
ReplyDeleteHere's my post for F:
F: Foreign Body
I thought i already commented here ... Moana is one of my all times favorites and my girl had slight curls and used to look a bit like the little Moana whose hair the waves change :)
ReplyDeleteMoana is my favorite too. I watched it with Zaara and Aaizu :) Wish Moana comes out of screen and tells them to Savor their food :D
ReplyDelete