We have come upon a system that may allow us to get beyond Will’s very limited repertoire of desirable food options. Will is very fascinated with the menus that he gets from elementary school and after-school care. He’s very particular about identifying which meals he wants. So this week, Will and I sat down and wrote out his menu of lunches and dinners for the week.
But there was a catch — he also had to select 1 food that he hasn’t eaten before and has to eat it at least twice that week. We write it on the menu, and that is what we’ll eat that day.
Oh, when he finally heard and understood that was his real meal for that day (and we weren’t making a pretend menu), there was great wailing and gnashing of teeth. I don’t like spaghetti, he said. (That’s what he choose for this week.) But he wrote the menu on Monday, and his first spaghetti day wasn’t until Thursday. On Tuesday, he again let us know he wasn’t going to eat it. On Wednesday, he mentioned that fact a little less frequently.
Well, of course, we had a bribe at the end of it. If he ate the selected food at least twice that week, he’d get a treat. It would be his choice (within reason). So, Thursday came, and in the morning, he grudgingly agreed that he would try the spaghetti - just a little bit. But we’ve been down this road before — he says one thing, but when it comes time to follow through, no dice.
When it came time for dinner, he sat down and pleasantly consumed his spaghetti - one noodle at a time. And he essentially finished it off. He even declared that he wanted to eat it again on Friday night, so that he could go to Brusters (his choice of reward) that night. So tonight — no complaints, and he ate even more spaghetti. (No sauce either time, though meatballs on the side were dunked in ketchup.) So, that’s one food we can check off the list.
His menu sheet has a list of other foods we’re suggesting he might want to try. And when we make next week’s menu, he’ll pick something else out to try. I don’t want to jinx myself too much, but this just may work. And maybe (like with potty training), he’ll eventually start to forget to ask for the reward. Or maybe we’re just dreaming about that.
Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend.
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