Oatmeal is a Finger Food

Sock Monkey loves oatmeal.  Oatmeal with cinnamon, and applesauce or blueberries, or strawberries, or blackberries.  We sneak in some ground flax seed and sometimes some coconut oil.  I love to watch her eat it.  We've given her a spoon since she started eating, so she can maneuver it.  Master it, she has not.  She just can't wait to get to those yummy surprises hiding in the depths of the gooey oats.

She is an excellent eater.  It seems like she never stops eating and most of it is pretty healthy.  I took a class to prepare myself for a task that I thought would take over my life, making our own baby food.  Fortunately, somewhere along the way, I discovered 'baby led weaning'.  What a lifesaver!  It made instinctual and logical sense, plus I wasn't going to have to spend endless hours steaming, pureeing and freezing 1,000 different types of vegetables.

I did learn something in that class that sticks with me though.  The lady recommended a book, I have no idea what the book is, but a quote from the book went something like this; "It is our job as parents to decide, buy and prepare the food for our children.  It is the child's job to decide how much of what they want to eat."  BINGO.  No food wars here.  Granted she is only 14 months old.  That is the philosophy I will stick with though.  And no, this doesn't mean she will get special cooked meals a la grilled cheese when everyone else is eating their grains and veggies.  Everyone gets what is cooked.

We just don't trust and respect children enough.  They know what their bodies need, when they're hungry and when they're not.  If you take the control out of 'finishing everything on your plate' then there won't be any control battles over them refusing to eat.  At least that's what I'm banking on.  I know it won't be all rainbows and butterflies at every meal time.  Hell, I'm usually offended every night when everyone isn't asking for thirds of what I cooked for dinner.  But at least I know I've done my job.

Besides, who wouldn't want a free oatmeal facial every morning?