Yes, I Paid My Child To Eat

When the little girl was a baby, she ate everything. I never gave her baby food out of the jar. She ate pureed or mashed table food. Honestly, I took great pride in knowing that she was getting fresh fruits and veggies with no preservatives made with love by momma. Lotta good that did.

She went through a picky toddler stage where she ate little to nothing. I took the approach of making sure she had something I KNOW she would eat for lunch and then making sure that she at least had milk with dinner. That way, even if she didn’t eat any of her meal, she would have something in her tummy to get her by until morning.

I can still honestly say that she will eat any fruit I put in front of her and, for that, I am very thankful! However, during the holidays I noticed just how picky she had gotten. We had tons of left overs to be eaten, yet I was making her popcorn shrimp or a sandwich or spaghetti. At almost 4, she’s become quite vocal about her mealtime preferences.

I came across this new e-book, The Happy Housewife’s Guide to Picky Eaters. I was intrigued and it was FREE! Why not? I got frustrated as I was reading because I have literally tried ALL of her suggestions, plus some, over the course of the last 3 years. Then I came to page 13 entitled, “Pay Your Kids To Try New Foods.”

I talked it over with the hubby. He was concerned that she wouldn’t understand the money concept. I decided I would word it like this…

I saved her the speech on sales tax. I figure if we make it to 10, I’ll gladly chip in a tax bonus. 🙂

The first item up for bids was Taco Soup and, by George, she ate it! Not the entire bowl, but she did have 4 bites all on her own accord. I’m still in shock. I don’t know that it will always be this easy. Maybe we just had beginners luck. Who cares? My kid ate taco soup with no tears, no drama and NO WHINING!

So, yes, I paid my child to eat. I think the score will rest at 1 for the Little Girl, 1 for Mommy. I rather like a tie now and again. 😀