The Zimmer Zoo

My kids are pretty good eaters. I mean sure – Maggie asks for Macaroni & Cheese for dinner just about every night (or spaghetti), Burke asks for Pizza (or Peezza if he’s spelling it *grin*), and Logan asks for Chicken Fries. (Yes, I’m sometimes a short-order cook, but that’s not what this post is about.)

HOWEVER, my kids will always, always try what’s in front of them. How the heck did I do that?? I think most of it was luck. Really. But a lot of it had to do with making them try just one bite from a very early age.

The rule is: Try one bite. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it. And I’m true to my word – if they decide they don’t like it, I don’t force them to eat any more. (Well, that’s not true…I’ve been know to say “oh wait, try THIS bit …it’s a little different.” …but only when it truly is a different tasting bite.) And yes, I’ll go find the chicken fries.

By sticking to my word, my kids know that I’ll leave them alone after that one bite (boy, the struggles when we first started out though … whooooeeee!), so it’s easier to just get that bite over and done with and then mom will go away.

But the BEST part of the whole thing is that about 4 out of 5 times, the kids will like it. And eat more. And it’s CRAZY how often they forget that they’ve tried something before … and liked it before! That alone drives me nuts – but with the one bite rule, they get to rediscover that they like it each time LOL!

Filed under: food, kids | Tagged: just one bite, one bite rule, try it, you'll like it |