Good Peer Pressure

Part of Cole's Nursery School routine includes snack time.  The school provides a nut free snack for all the kids.  Cole has a very limited diet (his own choice) and refuses to try new things.  A majority of the time we bring one of his favourite snacks to things like Sunday morning nursery, playgroup, etc.  His peanut allergy is usually a good excuse.  However, we decided that we wouldn't do this when it came to school.  Cole doesn't always have an afternoon snack at home, and we thought it would be good for him to have to conform to the rest of the class or, simply not partake if he didn't like what was served.  So we weren't surprised to hear that Cole wasn't eating snack almost on a regular basis.  However, the last couple of weeks Cole has had a change of heart!

First we were informed that Cole had 2 graham cracker biscuits that day.  Then at the end of last week we were told he ate 10 Ritz crackers and a container of applesauce.  These are things Cole has refused to touch since he was about 1 year old!  We always knew that Dave and I had no influence of what he was willing to eat.  We could talk something up and make something seem like it was the most delicious thing in the world ,and he still wouldn't try it.  We thought having a little sister with an adventurous appetite would perhaps influence him, but he hasn't followed suit.  So after months of sitting with his peers, and simply observing during snack time - Cole has taken the plunge!

Yesterday at dinner we put a couple of crackers on his plate.  Usually he just ignores these or offers them to his sister.  While we were finishing putting the rest of dinner on the table (the kids usually get a head start on us) we looked over and were amazed to see the crackers were missing.  Our first verbal enquiry gained no response so we looked over at Kendall's plate (a frequent strategy).  No crackers there.  We checked his lap and the sides of the booster seat.  Empty.  Finally we asked Cole again.  "Did you eat the rectangle crackers?".  His response:  "Yes."  "Would you like some more crackers Cole?"  "Yes."  There was much praise and then hushed high fives by the parents in the kitchen.  He probably ate 7 and polished off the diced pears and macaroni (something he almost dropped from his diet for months) on his plate as well.  Then this afternoon he tried a new kind of cookie he previously refused many times before.  He took a tiny bite to begin with, and then finished the whole thing (except a mushy corner).

I'm going to be paying close attention to the snack schedule at nursery school to see when vegetables are the menu.  These parents can only hope!!