Dinner or the Beans - Update #3

The great social experiment that is my children's life has continued - I am still offering the Dinner or the Beans every night.

Last night Ben asked for the Beans. I gave both boys beans, and Charlie had a meltdown demanding the dinner. Dinner he got, making it 4 nights in the last week he has made that choice. It seems my evil plan to make him so sick of beans he'll try anything is paying off. Not having to listen to Ben whinge every time we have meat in a shape that offends him is also a bonus. (I have no idea what that shape is - it certainly isn't the type of meat.)

This has really de-stressed dinner. It hasn't resolved all issues - you know, there is still whether the chair is perfectly aligned and the correct distance from your brother's chair, and whether you have the correct spoon, milk or water to drink, who interrupted who in the conversation and so on. However, since pretty much every single meal was begun with someone complaining loudly about the food on offer, removing that has genuinely helped.

It seems we've handed over just about the right level of control to the kids. Providing baked beans costs me at most 60 seconds, which is a sacrifice I am prepared to make. The kids have a feeling of choice without giving them total control over their nutrition since they aren't old enough for that yet. We get to eat a much wider range of food without feeling guilty. I'm pretty happy, a month and a bit down the track.