Mr. Picky Pants

Do you have a picky eater? A picky-pants-wearer?

Maybe you are raising one or maybe you are married to one. In my case, it’s both.

I love when my day starts with my 6-year-old freaking out because his pants aren’t tight enough, or they fit funny as he turns into a complete noodle in the middle of the kitchen floor. That usually sets the stage for the rest of the morning hustle.

What about when “dinner is ready” and as soon as their eyes make contact it looks like split pea goulash to them and the meltdowns start. Yesterday they liked spaghetti but today you didn’t make it with the right noodles. Definitely don’t switch from hamburger meat to turkey meat because that’s a whole new curve ball. “Mom, why would you put turkey in spaghetti?”

Then you add in my husband who says my chicken is too chewy! (I mean, in his defense, it is BUT it’s not THAT bad, why can’t we all just eat and get along?)

What do you do when you have a picky eater? Here’s my philosophy (Disclaimer: I am not a professional, I just have four kids):

1. It is what it is.
You eat it or you don’t get an after dinner treat or bedtime snacks. Our boys LOVE their after dinner “treats”. We established this rule early, we stuck to it, and now they know we are serious. So they usually begrudgingly gag, whine, or put mad faces on as they eat their terrible-no good-gross dinner that I made.

2. See #1

If you give them and inch, they will take a mile. If the opportunity is there to be picky, then they will take it and they will run with it. Even my husband knows, if he’s hungry and my chicken is chewy, he’ll figure out a way to get it down. Gosh, I sound like a horrible cook. I’m really not. I’m just not Betty Crocker. I’m hopeful that someday when my kids are grownups they will come visit and crave my fettucine alfredo with “spaghetti” noodles.

What do you do when Mr. Picky Pants and “THE PANTS” meltdown show up?

I’ve learned to give a little grace on this one. How often do you put on an “outfit” and it doesn’t feel right? I have days where I just feel frumpy, my hair didn’t curl right and I do NOT like the way my pants fit (perhaps from the box of cookies last night). Here’s my philosophy on this one:

1. Breathe and give them a minute to calm down

2. Offer two options and then walk away and let them decide (sometimes I set a timer or deadline for them to decide.)

3. When the going gets tough and you need to get out the door so you’re not late, a consequence comes into play. Their choice to “Not make a decision” would cause us all to be late and that’s not fair to the rest of us.

4. Then there’s the husband who’s particular on the way his shirts fit. If I get him a shirt that “doesn’t fit right”…he gets to return it.

In a busy day with multiple kids and so much going on, the kids will often hear “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”

Someday they will understand because as Merle Haggard says “Momma Tried”