Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.

Wednesday 7 July 2010

Love is a battlefield...

It would appear that my daughter, at the tender age of 14 ½ months, is learning to assert herself already. This has taken the form of refusing to eat pretty much anything I cook or put in front of her with the exception of cereal, cheese, yoghurt and strawberries! For her tea the other night she had Weetabix and banana and this was after I had offered her pork and apricot casserole, beans on toast (a former favourite) and bread and cheese spread. She would eat the cheese spread with breadsticks but I thought as a responsible mother this was hardly a suitable and sustainable meal.

My own mother has assured me that this is perfectly normal behaviour and upon further research I have found it is not uncommon in children her age. It is however extremely frustrating and wasteful. It is making meal-times unbelievably stressful for both of us and a once loved event has become something of a battle of wills. Hers mostly winning as I cannot force her to eat something that she won't but with the lists of things that she won't eat increasing daily I am starting to wonder what happens when I run out of options?! 


Gavin does not fully understand the complexity of the situation as he is yet to witness her refusing some of her once favourite foods, in fact he flat out refuses to believe me when I tell him that she will no longer eat bake beans (that's how much she loved them up until a week ago). The whole family are having a hard time believing that overnight Emily has become so fussy, this was the little girl that used to cry if you took too long with the spoon between mouthfuls. 


So I guess all I can do is ride out this latest storm and hope that it soon subsides, and when I do manage a small victory be grateful for the little things. Today she ate nearly a whole bowl of pasta and at least that's something right?!

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