The Restraint of a Four Year Old

Lets face it, there are many reasons to be jealous of children.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to convince Little Moo to take a nap that I wished I could be the one curling up under my [insert cartoon character here] blankie and sleep the afternoon away without the guilt of all the things I should be doing and have that be all that anyone expect of me, sleep for a couple hours. I dream of that many days, but I digress. Children have beautiful hair and skin, get carried around, served and can throw down in the middle of the store if things are not going their way. If I did that in the middle of Fred Meyers because there weren’t any more of any number of frugal items I’m looking for I’d be escorted out by a very cranky manager who isn’t going to cuddle me later. Or at least I should hope not. Yes, there are many reasons to be jealous of children, but mostly I’m jealous of my son’s restraint with food.

I show restraint in many areas of my life and in some areas I feel like I’m pretty good at exercising the restraint necessary to live the kind of life we want our family to have. Except when it comes to food.  I joke that I have no willpower when it comes to food especially in dessert form. But it is no joke. This is one area of my life that I struggle with, not just daily, but minute by minute. If I buy a bag of Hershey Kisses…

Mmmm, chocolate! Yeah, they will probably only make it until the next day but not much longer. And if you are lucky you might get some, if you around when I open the bag. And it isn’t that I sit down and eat the whole bag, but I just grab one or two on my way past the cupboard or the candy dish.  ALL. DAY.

OOPS!

This is true of brownies or cookies too. They just taste so good! I have gotten better at just not making sweets or buying them since I know this about myself and sadly I have not been blessed with the “I can eat whatever I want and not gain a pound” metabolism.  Sigh… So I struggle with tasty treats and showing restraint.

And then comes along a spunky little boy we will continue to call Little Moo who did this

We got donuts as a special treat and he got a tasty donut with sprinkles that he was so excited for. He ate about half of it then asked if he could save the rest for later and then asked for some cheerios and milk. Ummmm…..who are you and do we really share DNA???  We have worked really hard to give our children a positive image about food. We talk about what is healthy and not and while our menu could be healthier, I don’t actually do too terrible at providing healthy meals. It is mostly the snacking that gets me in trouble (and Zippercow). Strangely enough this isn’t the first we’ve seen of this from Little Moo. If we get a travel cup of Nutter Butters or the little purse box of animal cookies for him he will (without our prompting)  eat a handful and ask if he can save the rest for snack tomorrow. Duh! Of course you can you wonderful little boy you!

I’d say I don’t know how, but to be honest we’ve always had set meal/snack times for Little Moo and he gets limited candy and sugary treats. Enough that he isn’t deprived and feels the need to gorge at every opportunity but little enough that it isn’t a staple in his diet. We also NEVER make him clear his plate. Clearing our plate was what we were taught when I was a kid and I fully believe that is part of my own issues, why as an adult, even if I am full I feel the need to eat everything in front of me. Children  are actually conditioned not to listen to their bodies when they say they are full. He is always allowed to eat as little or as much as he wants at meals. Most days he doesn’t eat everything on his plate unless he’s played extra hard or it is a favorite. And if you set a tray full of vegetables in front of him he will go to town! He also likes to drink water, which we encouraged from the first time he held a sippy cup and doesn’t like soda. I also try not to talk about “dieting” but eating healthy around him. All in all, to this point in his life I feel we’ve done pretty good with food, he seems to have a pretty healthy relationship with food.

I wish I could be more like him. Yes, my four year old.  And it is not like I can’t do it either. While I was pregnant with Littlest Moo I had Gestational Diabetes and learned to very strictly control my diet very quickly to keep both of us healthy. Yet with no little baby growing within me to protect I struggle to keep my motivation. You’d think being healthy (and by extension skinnier) would be enough, but then I think one day without working out won’t hurt, I’ll do more tomorrow. Then I don’t. One cookie turns into four and then I feel since I’ve fallen off the wagon I might as well eat what I want. I know this is bad for me, yet I find myself in the same cycle constantly. So here I am. Twenty eight year old mom of two children who needs to learn how to be healthy with food from my four year old.