Smorgesbord

At preschool, all of the kids sit at the tables in the morning and eat breakfast.  For kids that eat breakfast at home (like mine), they may just sit down for a few minutes to drink a glass of orange juice.  The standard breakfast served is 1/2 cup sugared cereal (Trix, Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops) and 4 oz. orange juice.  Since I do not want my daughter eating sugared cereal every morning, I provide breakfast at home so she gets oatmeal, yogurt, fresh fruit, and healthy cereals.

Apparently, the food provided by the school is not enough for some parents.  I’m absolutely amazed by the smorgasbord of food that parents leave with their 2, 3, and 4-year-olds.  This morning, one 3-year-old girl had a bowl of Trix cereal overflowing (approx. 2 cups), a Go-GURT squeezable yogurt, a Fruit by the Foot fruit roll-up snack, a vanilla pudding cup, and a Sunny Delight orange flavored drink.  What is this parent thinking?

I’ve observed parents dropping off full McDonald’s meals with pancakes, sausage, hash browns, and orange juice for a 2-year-old.  I’ve seen Jello, donuts, cupcakes, and even M&Ms.  One little girl comes to school every day with a bottle filled with soda pop and the school dumps it out and fills the cup with juice or milk.  The 1/2 cup of cereal is not enough, so parents show up with ziplock bags full of cereal.  Some kids eat a package of six gem donuts for breakfast.  Are these people crazy?

The part that concerns me is that one little girl was sharing her M&Ms with the other kids.  I thought it was nice of her to offer to share her candy, but my daughter doesn’t need chocolate candies for breakfast.  I mentioned it today and they aren’t supposed to share their food due to food allergies.  So, while it is not the norm, the kids that are eating a normal breakfast have to watch the other kids eat candies, donuts, and puddings.  What kid wouldn’t want that for breakfast?

Every day I leave wondering why parents think this is okay.  Are they just submitting to whatever the kids want so long as they are happy?  Or, are they just teaching their children to eat what they eat?  Time can’t possibly be an issue if they can stop at McDonald’s.  Also, the school provides breakfast, so why isn’t that sufficient?  It’s the correct portions for children that age, but these parents don’t think it’s enough.  I’ve spoken to the lady who works in the kitchen and she ends up throwing all the food away that the kids don’t eat.  Not only are these parents wasting food and money, but they are teaching their children bad eating habits that will carry with them throughout their lifetime.

Child obesity has reached epidemic levels with estimates that 15% of children are overweight and an additional 15% are at risk of becoming overweight.  Two thirds of these kids will become overweight adults.  We can prevent childhood obesity by making sure that we provide healthy, nutritional foods for our children and by keeping them active rather than sedentary.  By providing our children with a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and non-processed foods, we can teach them to expand their palettes and develop healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime.

As for the daily smorgesbord of food, I will continue to shake my head in disgust at the mere site of it.  I’ve been so tempted to ask the parents why they think their child needs all that food, but I bite my tongue instead.  After all, it’s not my child and what do I know anyway?

Well, Hello Jerk!

I’m beginning to wonder if I should start grocery shopping alone.  It’s always been a family affair.  After this week and last, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea anymore.

Alyssa was riding in the car grocery cart this week.  It’s the shopping cart with a kid’s car on front so that your child can pretend to drive through the store.  She’s absolutely loves riding in the car!  As we were walking down the baking aisle, a nice lady was bent over looking at cake mixes.  Out of nowhere, Alyssa stands up through the front window of the car and says, “Well, Hello Jerk!”

I froze for a minute as if I had just been zapped with a stun gun.  Where in the world did this come from?  I have never heard her say anything like this before and she doesn’t even know what a “jerk” is.  We both yelled at her, told her that what she said was not nice, and made her apologize to the lady.  I also apologized again to the lady and said that I didn’t know where she picked that up.  The lady looked at me and said, “You’ll be surprised at the things they pick up.”

It seems like we’re having more and more embarrassing incidents.  I really think that Alyssa thinks she’s being funny and she’s just repeating something silly she learned at school.  When I asked her what she said later that day, she didn’t even remember.  She spends a lot of time with other kids and I’m sure she will be learning lots of things.  It’s my responsibility to teach her to be respectful to others.  Sometimes I struggle with finding behavior appropriate discipline, but I’m working on it.

Little Person Encounter

At the grocery store today, Alyssa was watching a gentleman put stuff away.  He just so happens to be a little person.  Loudly she says to Daddy, “Look Daddy, that man is small!”  The man heard her and approached the shopping cart.  He said, “That’s right, I am small.  I was born that way.”  Then he said, “Well, you’re small too!  How about a high five?”  She was afraid and wouldn’t give him a high five.

Children are so honest when it comes to simple observations.  Sometimes, it can even be embarrassing to parents.  She’s already pointed out the difference in skin colors and asks what’s wrong with people if there’s something different about them.  Sometimes I try not to respond in attempt not to draw attention to her, but if she’s persistent I politely explain without making the situation even more embarrassing.  I hope she learns discretion sooner rather than later.

Puzzled?

Alyssa’s love for puzzles is fascinating.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  I remember when she used to get frustrated with board puzzles and they were only 9 pieces.  When she finally mastered them, she was so proud.  “Look, Daddy!  I did it!” she’d exclaim.

A week ago we decided to move up to 25 piece puzzles.  These are standard puzzles with oversized pieces.  We picked Cars and Care Bears to start.  At first, she would get frustrated and ask for help.  I explained that you have to look at the picture and find the rest of the piece.  I also tried to explain that the puzzle makes a rectangle with the flat edges out.  It didn’t take long for her to get the hang of it.  It now takes her about 15 minutes to solve a puzzle by herself!  So, we picked up a Dora puzzle and a Disney Princess puzzle that creates three stand-up princesses.

The princess puzzles vary in difficulty and do not have a standard edge.  I thought they were going to be too hard for her, but she did it!  The fascinating part is how she goes about solving the puzzle.  She divides them first by color to separate the princesses.  Then, she picks one piece and tries all of the others in that spot until she finds a match.  She talks to herself and says things like “No, this doesn’t go here.” and “Where’s Belle’s hand?”  I watched in amazement.  I think we’ll be looking for puzzles with 50 pieces soon.

I never realized how beneficial puzzles are for young children.  They provide brain food for little minds.  Puzzles help children develop a range of skills such as eye movement, eye-hand coordination, and concentration.  They teach self-confidence and problem solving.  They learn to isolate colors and search for designs and shapes.  They make mistakes and learn from them.  They stimulate the thinking side of the brain and force them to focus on problem solving skills such as process and logic.  They are experimenting with process and learning which way works best for them.  Upon completion of a puzzle, they have a sense of achievement.  All of these skills can be transferred to every area of a child’s life.

Additionally, it’s a great way to entertain your child with something other than television or cartoons.  It’s amazing when you see them so focused on completing a task and so proud to accomplish it.  It’s rewarding for both the parent and child.  If you haven’t introduced puzzles yet, I highly recommend it.  You too will be puzzled!