From the mouths of babes ....
Today I child sat while mommy went to work.
As we were driving to Target the Angel mentioned that my car, Aretha, was very, very dirty. During the discussion the child mentioned she would make lunch. I thought, sure, right. She's six.
Our first stop on the way home was the car wash. She had never been to the drive thru kind. [Mimi] uses the the one where you do-it-yourself. We came out and parked at the vacs. I gave her a hose assuming she'd know what to do. She did. The middle of every area. I went and followed her and did the sides and corners.
Our next stop was mommy's other favorite store, Aldi. Her first favorite is Wegman's. Talk about extremes. I needed paper towels to do the car windows. Angel had mentioned her father-in-law makes a mean window cleaner. I usually use vinegar and newspapers. I knew Angel wouldn't have the paper. The child reminded me numerous times "that mommy didn't use paper towels, and that they were wasteful". "Yes", I assured her. "I don't use them as a rule either, but for some things they are best for the job". "But mommy says they are wasteful". And so it goes.
We get into Aldi and she asks for cereal. "No, mommy has very specific things you are allowed to eat. I don't want to buy the wrong thing. We came for cheap paper towels." They had started stocking up on the Christmas toys and she spied a doctor Barbie. Again I said "no". We get the towels and she says "I bet you'll say yes" and headed down the aisle for the fruit and veggies. She was right, I did. We bought tangerines to eat with lunch.
So we got back to her house and she starts making lunch. Calling out the nutrition play by play.
Cheese: We cut this into three squares each, 2 colors. It's protein and milk. Cheese is good for you.
Crackers: Pick those because all the colored spots are nutrition. Three one for each piece of cheese.
All on one plate. I tried to put it on our plates and she said no, you have to take it from the common plate, at the table.
Tangerines
Trail Mix in little plastic cups: Raisins and red things (strawberries) because they are fruit and they are sweet. And these yellow things (ginger) because they are spicy and that's good with sweet. And nuts because they are good for you. And chocolate covered raisins because they are yummy.[Angel's note: They were chocolate covered dried plums]
Plus I heated the thyme bread that Angel left out for us.
So it works. If you start young, they understand what's important. I wanted to mention it was a bit of a carb overload, but she's six. It wasn't PBJ.
I forgot to mention something in the email. I was not toally surprised, but did notice, that we drove past maybe 20 fast food places. She was hungry and never once suggested we stopped. They aren't even on her radar. That's your influence.
ReplyDeleteWe all need the window cleaner recipe. It works great and doesn't stink like ammonia or vinegar.
You can use the Aldi crisped rice. It also works with fruit loops, kikxs and several other cereals. Don't use ones with marshmallows. Bet it works with her Frankenberry too.