This afternoon Henry and Harmony went to play at a nearby gym with some very generous neighbors. An hour and a half later, Harmony came back happy as a clam...and Henry was definitely in a "mood".
I was afraid of that before they left--Henry didn't really care for lunch. I did give them a big-ish snack before they left--they each had a kiwi and half a pear, plus something from the "treat box" (Henry had a pack of Teddy Grahams, Harmony had a Rice Crispie bar). When he is hungry, it definitely shows in his behavior--and add losing a game, and he was a crying mess.
The answer? Adding green beans to the menu for dinner. We were having left overs--the lunch he didn't like, the roasted sausage, white beans and tomato dish he likes less, and spaghetti. We needed a veggie, so I added a can of green beans, his favorite. Henry did eat a serving of spaghetti, a piece of bread, and a serving of beans...and the entire rest of the can of beans!
And the rest of the evening? Happy Henry. Amazing what a can of green beans will do.
Take home parenting message: sometimes it's ok to play a "favorite" card...it can solve more than one problem!
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We have food-related behavior issues, too, though it's usually in the form of sugar. I have one in particular who becomes very surly when she's had too much sugar. I always feel like kicking myself when I have to discipline her for poor behavior/attitude and then think back over what she's eaten in the last 2-3 hours and realize that half of the behavior issue can be attributed to a brownie or ice cream cone! I guess the real lesson is to teach our kids that they have weaknesses in these areas and also teach them how to get around them.
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