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My sister reported that last night after eating two helpings of chili my 21 month old nephew refused to eat apple crisp for dessert. Incidentally my sister and her husband both had the dessert. And I would have too, apple crisp is delicious! The point here is, the little guy knew he was full, and stopped eating. Why should he cram more food into his belly? He probably realizes that will make him feel uncomfortable and tired.
To play devil’s advocate, maybe my sister and her husband ate their dinner reserving some room because they knew that apple crisp was on its way. But then again, maybe not, I’m sure the chili was delicious too.
I think we can learn a lot from babies (I should say toddlers, he’s growing up so quickly). Eat when you’re hungry. I’m not claiming that it’s easy, with dessert staring you in the eye, but the apple crisp will wait. It’s a lot easier for my nephew as he doesn’t know what he’s missing out on when he refuses dessert. Unfortunately as he has more experiences with food, he’ll learn that desserts are fantastically delicious treats and be in the same boat as the rest of us.
It’s amazing how his instincts guide him in healthy eating habits. Of course he doesn’t have it all figured out… he tried to eat paper on Sunday.
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Maybe he was trying to tell us that he’s looking for more fiber.
Comment by Miranda October 21, 2009 @ 12:55 pm