The Kids' Menu

As you get more experienced at this parenting gig, you definitely look at the years past and understand you would chose to do some things differently if you had the opportunity. One of the things I would do differently is the kids' menu we have been forced to serve at our house.

Aidan was not a huge eater as a baby. He loved to nurse. (He frequently nursed every two hours during the day as a baby! Yes, I never got to leave the house when he was an infant.) He loved his bottles. But food? He could have taken it or left it. I will never forget how excited Chris and I were to give Aidan his first taste of baby food. But surprisingly, his little face scrunched up with disappointment and severe distaste. He didn't love it. He ate because he had to, not because he loved to.

Aidan eventually got used to real food, but he did so with a severely picky appetite. He liked bland things - noodles with butter, bagels, plain crackers. As he grew up, he expanded his horizons slightly to include a few more foods, but more often than not they were kids' menu foods such as chicken fingers or pancakes. The day we discovered he liked meatballs was huge! Aidan's menu was so limited it often led to a great deal of frustration for all of us. And forget vegetables or fruits. He would eat raw carrots (when forced) and apples with all the skin cut off - that was it.

And then came Brennan. Brennan's first taste of baby food was a revelation. He was giddy as he threw back spoonful after spoonful of cereal, reveling in each taste. He liked anything and everything we gave him. It was an adventure for Chris and me to feed him. Brennan's favorite food at the age of one was blueberries. He would devour them by the fistful.

But as Brennan grew, he loved to emulate his big brother Aidan. If Aidan didn't like certain foods, then neither would Brennan. Slowly, our good little eater decided he too would only eat off the kids' menu. (Except for steak. He always loved steak.)

Our home had become a fast food restaurant. We would have two dinners - the adult dinner for Chris and me and the children's menu dinner for the boys. It was frustrating, but we accepted it.

Enter Griffin. Griffin loves anything and everything. He will try any food you give him, eager to taste anything different. He loves fruits and veggies and if given a choice, he would prefer to have an apple or a sliced tomato over anything else. Last week we met my mom for lunch and Griffin shared her salad, digging into her greens with enthusiasm.

This was a revelation to us. We have a child who doesn't require a separate menu. In fact, Griffin doesn't really like the foods on the traditional kids' menu. (He was thrilled when many of the kid friendly restaurants we frequent added grilled chicken to the menu.) All in all, Griffin prefers to eat what we eat. The possibilities for dinner became endless.

A few weeks ago, I decided I was done with the kids' menu. I was done running the kitchen like a restaurant, particularly on the days I returned home, harried from a long day of work and patching together dinner like I am a short order cook.

My experiment was not easy at first. It involved lots of tears (from Aidan) and whining (from Brennan) and even a couple of trips up to their rooms without dinner at all. Chris and I held firm. We endured the tears, tantrums and whining for days on end.

Dinner is now a family affair. Not only will they eat normal every day dinners like meatloaf, pasta with sauce and tacos. But, last week they licked their plates after a dinner of sliced steak with a peppercorn and pomegranate glaze (I know!) and last night they were beyond enthusiastic over shells stuffed with chicken and artichokes.

Dinner is not a battlefield in our home anymore. If I knew then what I know now, the kids' menu would have never had a chance in our house.