Eat Dinner As a Family: FAIL!
I really would love to be able to have dinner waiting on the table at 6:00 pm when Michael walks in the door from work but I couldn't get it altogether and it was creating a lot of stress. First problem, Camille & Clyde were starving and from 5:00 until 6:00 pm and they asked me every other minute if dinner was ready. Second problem, I am short order cook and Camille and Clyde eat something different from Michael and me and sometimes each other. So a lot of nights, I am preparing three different meals and that made it harder to get it complete by 6:00 pm. Third problem, Michael doesn't always want to eat dinner the minute he walks in the door. Fourth problem, I have a job and my hours are not 9:00 am until 5:00 pm and sometimes work things come up and I can't start dinner at 5:00 pm.
I still have a big problem with Clyde as a picky eater and my pediatrician told me to make the same meal for everyone and if Camille & Clyde don't want it offer one boring option as a back up such as peanut butter sandwich and offer that every time. The hope is they will get so bored with peanut butter sandwiches they will try what you made. I have given it a lot of thought and need to decide if I am disciplined enough to do this.
I think the new goal perhaps should be one a week we eat dinner as a family. Baby steps here. And maybe we can work our way up to more nights.
Start a Chore and Good Eater Chart: PASS!
Let's end on a high note. I think I passed this one!
We still keep up with this and I even have Camille & Clyde helping to unload the dishwasher and put away their laundry now. It works well for us and I can really get them to accomplish a bunch if we are two or three stars away from a TOY! As a reminder, once they get 15 stars, they get to select a toy from a basket of $5-$10 toys I keep in the attic.
Here goes with this week's menu planner....
Sunday - Salmon & Guacamole Sandwiches, Corn on the Cob
Monday - Brown Butter Gnocchi
Tuesday - Spicy Chicken Tacos with Chipotle Cream
Wednesday - BBQ Chicken Pizza and Pepperoni for Camille & Clyde
Thursday - Veal Saltimbocca, Sauteed Squash and Zucchini
As long as everyone ate, I wouldn't say you failed ;) When I was working ("9-5" as if that were the case) I found some things that worked best for me. A menu plan, all the groceries bought, and Real Simple saved my life!! They have great healthy recipes that were meals all in one (no need to cook a bunch of side!) and usually around 30 min start to table. And the crockpot was my other life saver. There are lots of great healthy crock pot recipes. LOVE the chore chart. Great ideas for little people!
ReplyDeleteI love your pediatrician's recommendation! Darby is starting to become a picky eater, so I will definitely use this. I'm also failing in the dinner as a family category for the same reasons. I think once a week is a good place to start! We just started Fridays at Phil's to end the week with family time that doesn't require cooking.
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