Great! I love it! Don't think my parents will understand, but I do! -g barden wrote: > WHY DO KIDS EAT SO WEIRD? > > Two and three year olds do seem to eat pretty weird. > > Thatâ??s because they eat the way Mother Nature wants them to, not the way we > want them to. Mother Nature is faced several problems with feeding toddlers > and preschoolers. > > The first problem is how to get enough calories a day into a stomach the size > of a lemon. She came up with a couple of good solutions to the first problem. > > First calorie solution: > > Switch over to calories in favor of nutrients. She just gets kids to switch > over to fats and carbohydrates instead of fruits and veggies. They need > constant fuel, not nutrients. If they filled up on fruits and veggies they > would never get enough calories. > > Mother Nature is really scrupulous with nutrients though. She holds on to > them like crazy, until she runs out. Most of us have seen a child detect > their need for a nutrient, and then suddenly gobble down something they never > liked -a whole bowl of green beans, or TWO bananas. Glory hallelujah! So you > go out and load up the grocery cart with bananas and green beans. Of course, > the next day they hate them. They got the nutrient they needed, now bring on > the macaroni. Liken it to a car that needs gas all the time, but an oil > change only every 3000 miles. > > Second calorie solution: > > Snack all day. Three meals a day in that tiny stomach just wouldnâ??t do it. > They would never get enough calories like that. They are supposed to graze. > So Mother Nature gets these kids to eat macaroni and cheese, pasta, crackers > every couple of hours. Donâ??t expect them to sit there and eat like adults. > > The Other Big Feeding Problemâ?¦Super - mobility > > The other feeding problem Mother Nature is faced with is really interesting, > because it actually has to do with a child's new found super-mobility. At > eighteen months you have got a child who can not only walk, but climb, > explore, and open things. If this kid wanted to, he could go out and forage > for his own food. I am certain that many, many generations ago there were > children who went out and did find their own food. Mushrooms, berries, > plants. These experimenting children ate things that werenâ??t too good for > them to say the least. To say the most, they didnâ??t pass on those > gastronomically adventurous toddler genes to later generations. > > So the real survivors were the ones that Mother Nature tells to never eat > anything new. NEVER eat anything you havenâ??t seen a gazillion times. Just eat > what you ate yesterday; that sounds like a plan. In fact, pretty much eat the > same thing every day. It's good for you. > > It is interesting to see how this is related to super mobility. An eight > month old who really is unable to forage, will try most anything. There is no > need to put that safety factor in there. The more mobile they get, the less > likely they will be to eat new things. Thatâ??s Mother Nature at work. Itâ??s a > safety precaution. So when do children begin to try new foods? When they are > old enough to understand the statement "Hey, are you crazy, donâ??t eat that, > itâ??ll make yaâ?? sick." > > Those Moms that tell you that their kids eat everythingâ?¦ broccoli, salads, > fresh fruitsâ?¦.THEY are the ones you gotta worry about.