1 post tagged “good habits”

(or, how M never ceases to amaze me)

Tuesday was a gorgeous day and evening, and we'd planned to grill burgers and sweet potato fries.  There was a bit of prep involved, though (I had to make the burger patties and Rae was cutting the sweet potatoes and mixing in the spices) and M, bless her heart, was waiting somewhat patiently in the kitchen for one of us to be finished so we could go outside and play with her (she's been riding her bike and wanting to shoot hoops down at a neighbor's house).  While waiting (and asking, perhaps not quite as often as she could have, when we'd be finished so we could go outside) she got the urge for a snack.  She asked once for a piece of chocolate (we still have chocolate from V-day) and when I said not before dinner she asked for an apple, to which I of course agreed.  When she opened the fridge to get one, she saw a tupperware of sliced red bell peppers that I had left over from something last week (omelets?) and asked if she could have those instead.

Now, I know she likes red bell peppers.  It's one of her favorite things to snack on when we make homemade pizzas.  We know this because we try just about everything with her (like red and yellow onions, garlic, sage sausage and fresh shredded mozzarella when we make pizzas) because she's curious and we want her to know what stuff tastes like before she poo-poos it.  By doing this she's discovered that she really likes raw, fresh cut red bell peppers.

Back to Tuesday.  She changes her mind, asks about the peppers, to which I say, in a rather shocked fashion, Sure, sweetie, if you'd like.  She grabs them, sits right on the floor, opens up the tupperware and begins munching contentedly.  Rae is dumbfounded, and I'm smirking at M as she noms her second slice, and we go back to prepping dinner.  About half way through the tupperware M says, I sure like these red peppers.  By the time Rae and I are finished with our work, M's eaten the entire tupperware full of red bell peppers.  She pops up, actually thanks me for the snack, and she and Rae head out to shoot some hoops.

It just goes to show how much we parents do have a say in the habits our kids form.  Sure, she asked for a piece of chocolate first, when isn't candy the first thing on a kid's mind?  But when told not before dinner, she found another, healthy alternative, and was actually happy for it.

And she got her piece of chocolate as an evening snack - after dinner.