Before I had kids, I was so judgmental of parents who fed their kids chicken nuggets in the shape of their favorite cartoon characters bought in bulk from the frozen food section of the nearest warehouse store. No way was I going to let my kids eat that kind of stuff even if they wanted it. Oh no, my kids would eat what I put in front of them because I was the one in charge, not them. HA!!! I had no idea what I was talking about.
Lessons learned: Don't be so judgemental and do whatever it takes to get your kids fed. I have found that parenting is all about flexibility and creativity. I've used my flexibility and creativity in conjunction with a something unexpected to trick my kids into eating what I want them to.
Read more in¿Qué más?: No "kid-friendly" meals in my house!
I use a muffin tin!
My kids are 4 and 2 years old. They are adorable and lovable and also extremely difficult at meal times. They don't want to eat anything that I want them to and sometimes it seems like they just won't eat anything. I resort to all sorts of tricks like bribery or crying (me, not them), and other days when I'm clear-headed I just pull out an empty muffin tin and fill it with all sorts of options of things that I am okay with them eating and tell then we're going to have a tea party.
For some reason, when I present the same exact foods that they would normally fight me on in a muffin tin, they get super excited and actually dig in. Maybe it is a sense of freedom for them to be able to pick and choose from what is available or maybe they just like the way the food looks in the muffin tin. I don't care what it is, I'm just glad it gets them to eat.
Images via Thinkstock and Claudya Martinez
