Peaches

This past year our youngest began to show signs of the same finicky eating that his older brother displayed. I was committed to avoid making the same mistake twice. Keep in mind I have two girls who eat great, so I'm not a complete failure as a parent.

Well several months ago I decided to draw the line in the sand with my youngest. Over the years I've heard many people recommend that if a child doesn't eat dinner you hold it over to breakfast and so on until they eat. While I had never tried it, I thought okay, I'll give it a shot.

Enter the infamous peaches. My youngest was given some peaches with his dinner. He decided NOT to eat the peaches. I firmly explained he couldn't have anything to eat until he ate his peaches (After all he'd eaten peaches before, so I knew it wasn't a matter of dislike). I put the peaches in the fridge and told him he could eat them for breakfast.

At breakfast, no can do, he would not eat the peaches. Again, line is drawn in the sand. I got firmer and said he had to stay in his room until he ate the peaches. I'll make a long, painful story short and say my willful young man spent the day in his room coming out periodically to look stubbornly at the peaches.

We were at war. Neither would budge. Although I did lose a little ground by giving him some milk (my mistake).

Finally, by the evening I could take it no longer. I put those blasted peaches in the blender and made him a peach milkshake. Technically I won. He consumed the stinking peaches, but it was a hollow victory.

Why do I tell you this story today? My husband and I took two of our kids to pick peaches and yes my youngest was one of them. He was pretty pumped about picking peaches.

It was a lovely morning in the peach orchard. The ultimate moment was when I heard Elijah who was walking slightly behind me, holding his basket muttering to himself...."I don't like peaches, I don't like peaches, I don't like peaches".

Clearly I have scarred him for life. By the way we picked 75 pounds of peaches.