Ok folks I know the title is just a tad misleading .. Cheerios won't be going anywhere in fact I am quite sure they are here to stay until the end of time ..and why not ..they are the cutest most loveliest version of a mini doughnut shaped cracker that mankind could have ever invented.
But seriously, I have been thinking a lot lately about all of the little things I could have done differently to help my little boys palate stay stuck on fruits and vegetables as opposed to bread and pasta and crackers.
My son took foreverrrr to get his teeth and now that he is only a few months away from turning four .. he has finally started to teeth his molars Woo! .. with his zero back teeth mixed with my fear of him choking ..the whole -Cheerio Snacktime-Movement- fit into our families routine quite nicely, especially with the companies promises of..."easily dissolved" so kids won't choke and healthy all natural oats ...etc etc. Why wouldn't everyone want their little ones tucking into a snack bowl filled with them ..better yet a snack bowl with a lid and slats on top so they can just reach in and grab never ending Cheerios ..they don't ever have to smell them ..look at them or even see them ..just EAT them! ..and then when you are ready you can move your little ones onto the cute and cuddly GoldFish cracker .."it has cheese in it" after all ! AND "it smiles back" !!
Because hindsight is 20-20 ..I can see the most important choices that I made where it went wrong for my little boy and our family. Starchy*Starch*Starch*I*Love*Starch!! would probably be my little guys food anthem if I were to allow it ...yes he loves him some bread, crackers, pasta, bread, crackers, pastaaaa........ as I have begun pin pointing those areas of weakness I have also realized where I veered off the course or jumped off ship entirely and grabbed for that adorably marketed Cheerio floating device to fill his snack time belly ..look I know I know I cannot blame the Cheerio for all of the challenges I have faced with my little boys difficult eating tendencies. But! I do now know that had I never focused my little guys palate on starchy products like Cheerios and instead have given him any other option ..maybe this whole process of teaching him to enjoy a variety of foods would not be as much of a difficult one .That being said I do know kids who have been raised on the classic Cheerio and have moved on to eating and loving vegetables and all sorts of lovely foods! .. sadly this was not the case for my boy.
With all of this now in mind I have decided to gather up a list of ideas to pack away for the future ..in hopes of having another Bebe. Knowing that my brain will probably be meshy at the "Cheerio Phase" ..and having a pre-game plan will be helpful for my future self -I swear I have lost 25% of my mental power since having a child ..and I am doubtful that it will ever return. So ...here is my list ..I will call it the <In Leu of Cheerios List> ..just a few ideas stockpiled for when the time comes, a bounty of fruits and vegetables that a little bebe can pick up with its beautiful little pincer grabbin fingers for snack time and munch on with Mama xoxoxox
[cut into bits] :
peeled grapes
tofu
banana
peeled stone fruits peach,nectarine,apricot ..
steamed peas
blueberries
cooked buttery soft beans
[chopped bits of steamed] :
carrot
potato
peeled broccoli stem
peeled asparagus stem
cauliflower
beet
.. and more!
But seriously, I have been thinking a lot lately about all of the little things I could have done differently to help my little boys palate stay stuck on fruits and vegetables as opposed to bread and pasta and crackers.
My son took foreverrrr to get his teeth and now that he is only a few months away from turning four .. he has finally started to teeth his molars Woo! .. with his zero back teeth mixed with my fear of him choking ..the whole -Cheerio Snacktime-Movement- fit into our families routine quite nicely, especially with the companies promises of..."easily dissolved" so kids won't choke and healthy all natural oats ...etc etc. Why wouldn't everyone want their little ones tucking into a snack bowl filled with them ..better yet a snack bowl with a lid and slats on top so they can just reach in and grab never ending Cheerios ..they don't ever have to smell them ..look at them or even see them ..just EAT them! ..and then when you are ready you can move your little ones onto the cute and cuddly GoldFish cracker .."it has cheese in it" after all ! AND "it smiles back" !!
Because hindsight is 20-20 ..I can see the most important choices that I made where it went wrong for my little boy and our family. Starchy*Starch*Starch*I*Love*Starch!! would probably be my little guys food anthem if I were to allow it ...yes he loves him some bread, crackers, pasta, bread, crackers, pastaaaa........ as I have begun pin pointing those areas of weakness I have also realized where I veered off the course or jumped off ship entirely and grabbed for that adorably marketed Cheerio floating device to fill his snack time belly ..look I know I know I cannot blame the Cheerio for all of the challenges I have faced with my little boys difficult eating tendencies. But! I do now know that had I never focused my little guys palate on starchy products like Cheerios and instead have given him any other option ..maybe this whole process of teaching him to enjoy a variety of foods would not be as much of a difficult one .That being said I do know kids who have been raised on the classic Cheerio and have moved on to eating and loving vegetables and all sorts of lovely foods! .. sadly this was not the case for my boy.
With all of this now in mind I have decided to gather up a list of ideas to pack away for the future ..in hopes of having another Bebe. Knowing that my brain will probably be meshy at the "Cheerio Phase" ..and having a pre-game plan will be helpful for my future self -I swear I have lost 25% of my mental power since having a child ..and I am doubtful that it will ever return. So ...here is my list ..I will call it the <In Leu of Cheerios List> ..just a few ideas stockpiled for when the time comes, a bounty of fruits and vegetables that a little bebe can pick up with its beautiful little pincer grabbin fingers for snack time and munch on with Mama xoxoxox
[cut into bits] :
peeled grapes
tofu
banana
peeled stone fruits peach,nectarine,apricot ..
steamed peas
blueberries
cooked buttery soft beans
[chopped bits of steamed] :
carrot
potato
peeled broccoli stem
peeled asparagus stem
cauliflower
beet
.. and more!
