Toddler Tea Time Management
Like the title, huh? Bit of alliteration going on there.
Well it pretty much sums up what all this is about. I am sure if you ask anyone with young children what part of rearing the brood causes the most traumas, that mealtimes will feature highly on most lists.
Why? Well, for the uninitiated, most pre-schoolers have not yet mastered the arts of dining etiquette that those of us who move in polite society circles have come to expect. In fact I can think of quite a few adults that haven't either, but we won't go there.
Class knows no boundaries here - your average 2 year old whether born with a silver spoon, or from the most deprived of backgrounds will try the patience of their parents no matter how good the upbringing. Everything has to be ready NOW!!! It can't be too hot or too cold! And woe betide if it's the wrong shape (bringing memorable Fawlty Towers scene about amphibious landing craft chips to mind).
How does one cope - well a bit of forward planning, the aforementioned "Time Management" can minimise the pain. Here's a few tips - for home and away!
Breakfast: Get ahead of the game - bowls and spoons out before bed the previous evening. And work around the fussiness. For example - my boys have Shreddies for breakfast. Ollie likes his soggy. So if you put him at the table and then dish it up - he gets most upset because they are "too crispy". Whereas Jamie likes his crispy. So my solution - get up before the kids (now there's a challenge in itself), put the cereal in the bowls, add the milk to Ollie, but not to Jamie's. Go back upstairs, get them dressed, bring them down. Pour cereal onto Jamie's - solution - one soggy, one crispy. If you think that's pandering to their whims, then imagine the sound of my two screaming their heads off at 7:30am in the morning, then think of the phrase "anything for a quiet life". I rest my case.
Lunch: Nothing worse than coming in the door, laden with shopping, soaked wet, needing to get coats off, change nappies etc and having the boys going "I'm hungry", "I want this" etc etc etc. Solution. Well, I make Jamie a sandwich before I go to collect him from the Courtyard and put it on the coffee table with a drink. So when we walk through the door at 12:30ish, it's sat there on the table waiting for him. He goes straight to it and starts shovelling it in - while I get on with what I need to do (whatever that is).
Dinner: The main problem encountered over the years is things being too hot. So I merely adjust my timings so that the boys is ready before ours. This is just simple things really like taking their roast potatoes out of the oven 10 minutes before I dish up ours. If they are having fish fingers while we are having something they don't eat and we are all having chips - well I've got a twin fryer so I do two batches, plus making sure that the fish fingers are ready before our fillet mignons. And if you think that's tight us having steak while they have fish fingers, well they prefer it that way - forking out for 4 steaks? Not until I have to. So there we go - all sat down without kids screaming because they've burnt their mouth.
Eating out and holidays. Restaurants where you order off the menu are big no go area. Not only do toddlers not understand the concept of waiting, but when it does come it's bound to be too hot, so not only have you made them wait, now they can see it but you won't let them have it yet. Tantrum just waiting to happen. If you want a meal like that, go with a couple of friends and leave the kids with a baby sitter, then you can take as long as you like and also get pissed. Hello Maba! Be in to see you real soon! As for holidays - half board with a buffet restaurant is a must then they can have what they like and it's rarely too hot. Going out for meals on holiday is a disaster and as for self-catering - well what's the point of going on bloody holiday if you have to do all the same cooking that you do at home.
So there you go - all obvious stuff, but these little tips can make the difference between a reasonably harmonious (as far as such a thing is possible if your kids are like mine), and a full on war zone!
Bon appetit!
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
Jason x x
Well it pretty much sums up what all this is about. I am sure if you ask anyone with young children what part of rearing the brood causes the most traumas, that mealtimes will feature highly on most lists.
Why? Well, for the uninitiated, most pre-schoolers have not yet mastered the arts of dining etiquette that those of us who move in polite society circles have come to expect. In fact I can think of quite a few adults that haven't either, but we won't go there.
Class knows no boundaries here - your average 2 year old whether born with a silver spoon, or from the most deprived of backgrounds will try the patience of their parents no matter how good the upbringing. Everything has to be ready NOW!!! It can't be too hot or too cold! And woe betide if it's the wrong shape (bringing memorable Fawlty Towers scene about amphibious landing craft chips to mind).
How does one cope - well a bit of forward planning, the aforementioned "Time Management" can minimise the pain. Here's a few tips - for home and away!
Breakfast: Get ahead of the game - bowls and spoons out before bed the previous evening. And work around the fussiness. For example - my boys have Shreddies for breakfast. Ollie likes his soggy. So if you put him at the table and then dish it up - he gets most upset because they are "too crispy". Whereas Jamie likes his crispy. So my solution - get up before the kids (now there's a challenge in itself), put the cereal in the bowls, add the milk to Ollie, but not to Jamie's. Go back upstairs, get them dressed, bring them down. Pour cereal onto Jamie's - solution - one soggy, one crispy. If you think that's pandering to their whims, then imagine the sound of my two screaming their heads off at 7:30am in the morning, then think of the phrase "anything for a quiet life". I rest my case.
Lunch: Nothing worse than coming in the door, laden with shopping, soaked wet, needing to get coats off, change nappies etc and having the boys going "I'm hungry", "I want this" etc etc etc. Solution. Well, I make Jamie a sandwich before I go to collect him from the Courtyard and put it on the coffee table with a drink. So when we walk through the door at 12:30ish, it's sat there on the table waiting for him. He goes straight to it and starts shovelling it in - while I get on with what I need to do (whatever that is).
Dinner: The main problem encountered over the years is things being too hot. So I merely adjust my timings so that the boys is ready before ours. This is just simple things really like taking their roast potatoes out of the oven 10 minutes before I dish up ours. If they are having fish fingers while we are having something they don't eat and we are all having chips - well I've got a twin fryer so I do two batches, plus making sure that the fish fingers are ready before our fillet mignons. And if you think that's tight us having steak while they have fish fingers, well they prefer it that way - forking out for 4 steaks? Not until I have to. So there we go - all sat down without kids screaming because they've burnt their mouth.
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| Our tea! |
| The Kids Tea - what do you mean, that's not fair? |
Eating out and holidays. Restaurants where you order off the menu are big no go area. Not only do toddlers not understand the concept of waiting, but when it does come it's bound to be too hot, so not only have you made them wait, now they can see it but you won't let them have it yet. Tantrum just waiting to happen. If you want a meal like that, go with a couple of friends and leave the kids with a baby sitter, then you can take as long as you like and also get pissed. Hello Maba! Be in to see you real soon! As for holidays - half board with a buffet restaurant is a must then they can have what they like and it's rarely too hot. Going out for meals on holiday is a disaster and as for self-catering - well what's the point of going on bloody holiday if you have to do all the same cooking that you do at home.
So there you go - all obvious stuff, but these little tips can make the difference between a reasonably harmonious (as far as such a thing is possible if your kids are like mine), and a full on war zone!
Bon appetit!
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
Jason x x
Nice blog bestie :0)
ReplyDeleteWhy, thank-you x
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