I have a 3.5 yr-old who only recently began being positive about eating. I wanted to share with you all our experience and hear about any comments or ideas you have. Little Lucas is a little boy who ABSOLUTELY needs to have independent choice. It's one of the reasons I'm a stay-at-home mom and he's a homeschooling preschooler. BUT, he just wouldn't eat! Every time he started liking I food, it seemed I would spoil it by putting it in front of him or, god forbid, talking about it. I realized the choice itself would help him feel empowered. Like most children, he is also engaged by anything new and challenging. He had just learned the alphabet names and was in the middle of learing letter sounds. I took one sheet of paper and wrote down a few names of food and handed it to him. Together we sounded out the letters/words, and I asked him what he would like to eat. I couldn't believe it. It worked!!! So now, about a year later, I've designed a durable version of that first scrap of paper. He uses it regularly, and gets VERY excited when we're at a restaurant and he sees other people using menus. It's worked so amazingly for us, that I want to share it with others. From what I can tell in OUR house and from what I've heard from other Mommies who have been using this, the menu can be used very effectively with toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children. I"m seeing three distinct benefits: empowering/emotional development, motivating picky eaters, and engaging early readers (from phonemic awareness to fluency). Please let me know what you think. Mention this forum and let's take %20 off the price of a menu. I'd LOVE your feedback.
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