When my daughter was old enough to eat real food, I was very conscientious of what I fed her. I avoided giving her any kind of junk food or overly sugary stuff and encouraged fruits and whole grains and all that. I could hardly even bear for her to eat things that weren’t organic.
*cue record scratch sound effect*
Fast forward to 5th grade and the addition of a sibling, now age 6…
I always pack them healthy lunches but on the not-so-rare occasions when I am stupid enough to bring a bag of Cheetos or Dortios or Oreos into the house, they are like junk food truffle pigs.
They race in the door from school, wash their hands (possibly the ONLY thing they do without having to be asked ten times) and head straight for the kitchen to start rooting around for whatever crap food may be around.
Well, I’ve been busy this week and haven’t gone to the grocery store and it seems our junk food supply has run dry so yesterday, they had to share *gasp* a snack sized bag of Doritos while totally taunting each other (Haha! I got more than you! No, I got more than you! Shut up! Mommmmm! Sissy told me to shut up!) and when those ran out, the complaining started about the lack of “good” stuff to eat.
Of course there is “good” stuff to eat, I tell my daughter. There are clementines and apples and pineapple and Baby Bel cheese and… But to no avail, the complaining continues.
Me to daughter: Jeez…you’re like an addict. Is that all you think about all day long—coming home and eating junk food?
Smartass Daughter to me: Yep!
Me: *dismayed look*
Me to Son: What about you, buddy?
Son to Me: Well…sometimes I also think about hot dogs and turkey and pesto sandwiches
OMG SO CUTE!
I forget all about the junk food ban I was considering…
My super picky eater thinks about my turkey and pesto sandwiches!!!
That’s kind of a WIN, right?!
I knew this day would come eventually but I never dreamed it would be so heart-wrenching.
Kids and Their Neverending Wants: Total Ingratitude or Totally Normal?
A friend recently mused over whether his children appreciate what is given to them after his younger child complained of not getting ice cream at the end of a whole day devoted to her and her wishes. This made me think a lot about my own children and whether they appreciate what they have, particularly as we’ve experienced the same type of ingratitude around here, too.
In my estimation, we live a typical middle-class (what’s left of it) life—we can’t afford a lot of luxuries but we are able to have most of the things we want and pretty much anything we really need. It should be noted, though, that my husband and I aren’t particularly materialistic people so our lifestyle may be modest by typical American standards.
Regardless, there are trips to theme parks and family vacations and modern computers and iPads and iPhones and Netflix and cable TV and super-fast fiber optic internet access and health insurance and quality organic food in the fridge and a scooter and two decent cars and big birthday celebrations and dance classes and t-ball and basketball and cheerleading and scouts and way too many Lego sets and several ridiculously expensive American Girl dolls and frequent outings for ice cream and the movies and a Wii and a Nintendo DS and a house full of toys.
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