Healthy!

OK, not really. Tonight's dinner: a bite of corn on the cob, a large handful of potato chips, one lick of beef hot dog, and most of a Edy's fruit bar. Why so nutritious, you ask? Because we didn't make Amelia her turkey or her bagel or her noodles, the only things she'll consistently eat (other than fruit, sweets, or muffins), so she had to make do with the other stuff. Is she the only child in the world who doesn't want to eat a hot dog?

Also, I had one of those awkward etiquette moments, because Amelia's cousins weren't allowed to have potato chips until they ate their broccoli, whereas I served Amelia her chips along with the rest of her meal. I'm not sure how I feel about the "eat your broccoli and you'll get your chips" as a strategy. I go back and forth on it. I know Ellyn Satter says not to do it, but rather to lay out all the food and let the kid pick what, how much, and which. But as a parent, it is almost impossible to for me to keep my mouth shut when my kid chows down on potato chips (which she almost never gets to eat) over the healthier fare. That said, tonight's dinner was unhealthy all around so I am clearly overthinking this.

I am going to have to steel myself when it comes time to move to "family meals" because it'll probably be six months of her not eating dinner. I'm going to have to go Method acting on her and pretend I'm not freaking out. I'd like to thank the academy.... .