Stuart was out with friends for the evening and Jack and I settled down for dinner alone. I spoiled him with macaroni and cheese as a nice start to the meal; he was thrilled. I then laid out 6 peas on his plate and explained that he would have to eat them if he wanted Oreos. He cried. I stood my ground. He picked up a pea and put it in his mouth. He made faces, gagged, and put his fingers in his mouth causing himself to throw up. He was surprised and asked me "what's happening?" (Jack hasn't really thrown up since he was a baby.) I explained and he said he was sorry. Yes, you read that right, my polite little boy calmly apologized to me for throwing up. I decided to try it again. Same result. At this point, Jack is insistent that he is sick and needs a thermometer. I tell him I will check his temperature after he eats. I tell him to eat 4 more peas and explain that he can't put his fingers in his mouth or it will make him throw up again. He agrees and eats a pea, with only minor grimaces and no throwing up. I am hopeful. He eats a second pea. YEA! He eats a third one, makes a face, and throws up again. He continually asks, "what's happening to me?" At this point I feel like crap. In my guilt I gave him Sprite (to settle his stomach) and Oreos for dinner. Stuart is ticked off at me. He hates peas and thinks I am mean. (He brought Jack home a chocolate shake because he felt so bad for him. So, he had Sprite, Oreos, and a shake for dinner.)
I actually have video of the event...up until he threw up. I was recording it because I think the faces he makes while eating something he doesn't like are hysterical. Be grateful I am not posting the video. (I should mention that the boy loves watching the video of himself throw up. He has requested to watch it repeatedly today.) I will, however, share some still shots I pulled from the video.
For the record, I will never force peas on him again.
3 comments:
Poor kid. I wonder if he'll ever eat another pea his whole life. Don't feel bad about the baby food thing. I still keep jars of squash in the house for Lexi. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.
Do you know how many times my kids have thrown up because I've made them eat something? LOTS. I once read somewhere that a kid has to try something multiple times before they will like it. All of my boys went through picky phases. Max is 7 and still will only eat about 5 things. Ben just barely started trying new things. If he will eat the baby food I say keep feeding it to him. Ian still eats baby food.
I'm not kidding.
Also, can I come live with you? Because oreos, sprite and chocolate shakes for dinner sound AWESOME.
Oreos, sprite and choclate shakes for dinner does sound awesome.
For the record, I hate peas too.
Also, I remember being forced to sit at the table one time until I tried my applesauce (which I hated and still do!). I was mad at my dad for that one for a long time.
We used to sneak Joe his veggies by hiding them inside of riggatoni (the fat tube-like pasta). He used to love zucchini, and then one day decided he wasn't going to eat it anymore. So, we would make pasta and stuff the zucchini inside it. He ate it up and never knew the difference!
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