Apple Peel
I often wonder if preschool aged children in third-world countries flip-out if one drop of guacamole touches their cheese quesadilla. Why is it such a common theme for children in upper-middle class western cultures to have so many issues with food? Our over-indulged kids are so damn picky that they will reject an entire apple if one shred of peel is left on it…would Shane Ginsberg please stand up?
It drives me fucking nuts. I know I created this monster. I painstakingly peel fruit for him, carefully remove cherry pits, and surgically remove crust from his toast. Why? I don’t really have a good answer. I suppose it’s what I’ve always done and he has grown accustomed to it. There was a part of me that believed that he was incapable of digesting an apple with peel on it, until I spied on him during snack-time at school one day and almost keeled over when I watched him eat a regular apple slice, peel and all. Not only did he not choke and die as he swallowed it, he actually quickly gobbled it up and asked for more!
So all of his food demands are pure drama for my benefit, right? Maybe because I engage, and it has become a sick way for us to connect with one another. He gets to play the role of the helpless baby, and I get to feel like the ultimate rescuer and nurturer as I selflessly peel his apple for him.
Has my sense of self been reduced to this? Is my need to feel validated in my role as mommy driving me to the point that I need to engage in pointless rituals? I am so over this. Shane is four and a half years old and he is starting Pre-K tomorrow. He can now eat his fucking apple like a regular person. Peel and all.
June 21st, 2009 at 6:05 pm
I have seen big changes in this regard in kindergarten. Non-peel eaters are now whole apple eaters. And non-sandwich eaters now eat them, too. It just takes time and exposure to new environments (and friends who eat things differently than they do). M
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:30 am
i’m 12 and i still like the crust off my bread. maybe some things take longer to grow out of for some people.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 am
UGH! I am the same way even though I swore up and down (before kids, of course!) I’d never be that mom. Well, I am totally that mom and my kids have all kinds of food phobias, though at 6 my older son no longer gags if the peel is left on. But no veggies can be on his plate or anywhere near him on the dinner table. YIKES!
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:04 am
“I often wonder if preschool aged children in third-world countries flip-out if one drop of guacamole touches their cheese quesadilla.”………..Classic.