Maybe it's just a stage

Maybe it's just a stage or maybe it's the development of a habit for life but either way there are things I do as a mum now that I never thought I'd do. Maybe you do these too, or more likely you have other things you do to make life a little easier or a little less crazy for you and your family.

First, our son watches a crazy amount of TV while eating. Basically he eats breakfast, lunch and dinner in front of the TV. All the books say you should not do this, it encourages future obesity, it's a time for family blah blah blah. Well, this is my reasoning: Our son is still on the very low percentiles for weight, so any extra little bit of food I can get into him is a bonus. Bring on mindless eating! Bring on dairy-free chocolate, bring on spoonfuls of nuttelex. Strapping him to a chair is a bonus because he's not moving, thus more likely to put on weight. He's on the go pretty much the rest of the time, so no qualms about this aspect. Plus, we've tried eating occasionally with him, but all he wants is to taste our food - who can blame him on his restricted diet? So there you go, I've reasoned away my guilt and happily go about my laundry, washing up, ironing etc while he's strapped in and eating away. The bonus too is that he loves Playschool and has learned that much from the shows it's scary.

Let's see, the second treasure idea I've had is also food related. I've started cooking hot breakfasts for him on most days. By doing this, I make sure he has a good amount of protein and carbs at the start of the day. I'm mostly still in pyjamas so I don't care that it does take a bit longer. The positive side is that once I know he's had one good meal, I'm not nearly as stressed at lunch time. This gives me a freedom to go out and about later that morning and our son munches on whatever I have packed for the day. But there's no more need to sit down with a full meal at lunch. Then at dinner, it's another cooked meal. Now, if your child isn't super skinny, there's no way you would go to this trouble. But, if you're trying to get them to put on weight, then getting frustrated at brekki because they won't eat cereal, then stressing at lunch because you're not sure if they're going to like what you've got... it all leads to headaches, wasted food and wasted energy. Of course if your child has more interesting options for food, then this probably isn't going to worry you as much. For allergy parents... it's all about food.

So these are my two things... so far. What about you? What tricks and shortcuts do you take that you didn't expect to take? Does it work? Is it worth it?

Maybe this is just a stage... time will tell :-)