The food wars

Several months ago, I interviewed Paula Spencer for an article I did for iparenting.com: http://toddlerstoday.com/resources/articles/toddlertornadoes.htm . I recently got an email announcement from her about her newest book, MOMFIDENCE. In her announcement, she writes, "Oreos make a fine snack!" I had to sulk in my chair, suddenly reminded of my child's visit with a nutritionist. Teetering on the brink of some kind of meltdown over my daughter's weight being a little bit below normal, she informed me that an Oreo cookie is a TREAT, not a snack. Since her concern was that I had to get my daughter to gain weight, she told me to think of snacks as "mini meals" and have her eat something a little MORE than just a couple of cookies with a glass of milk. (Well, shoot, sometimes that's the same kind of snack I would have!) On top of this, I had her doctor mention that her weight is a little bit below average. I've been asked "has she always been skinny?" (yes) but I've also been told "at least she's not overweight like a lot of other kids her age" (YES!).

The point of the matter is, I'm counting my blessings. I mean, she's HEALTHY! She hardly ever gets sick -- I mean, she only had a flu and a cold when she was a baby, and I only nursed her for a week -- and she's also an energetic, smart child. (Lord Almighty, is she EVER energetic!)

All the same, I've been keeping VERY close tabs on her diet. If I'm not telling her "no more junk food for today" then I'm encouraging her to take three more bites of something she barely even touched. Or even five more bites. I've even tried making a game of it, something along the lines of, "I bet you can take three more bites of your cheeseburger before I finish 7 of my French fries." Or, something like that. I don't try to force her to eat or bribe her, or anything. She usually has no problem taking a few more bites, but other times she'll protest, "But, Mommy, I'm FULL!" It's times like that I want to dial up her pediatrician and ask him what to do NOW.

When I can't get her to eat during a meal, I remember the "mini meals" advice and try to compensate there. I have thought of asking her doctor about giving her a daily vitamin, but I have a hard enough time getting her to chew a Children's Motrin tablet as it is.

It's an ongoing "food war" going on in the home. I know that at least I can be thankful she's healthy, energetic and alert, etc., but sometimes I wonder if a mother's instinct is really what I should trust with this kind of thing.