A Lesson In Open-Mindedness

Have you ever eaten Sun Chips with ketchup? My younger son swears by them. If he sees the bag of Sun Chips out, he gets himself a plate and asks for “chip” and “chepup.” I confess, I finally broke down and tried it. Yeah, I wouldn’t recommend it. But, if my son gets multi-grains AND lycopene, who am I to complain?

My elder son is held to the Green Eggs and Ham rule. He has to try whatever I ask him to try. If he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t have to eat more (unless it’s the only thing I made for the meal). But I will act like Sam-I-Am and bug him until he tries it (the logic is that he may like it – like the narrator from the book learned – but if he won’t try it, he’ll never know).

We went to a Vietnamese restaurant a month ago (Tay Do, at the corner of Stumph and Snow – if you’re ever in the Cleveland area; not too far from the airport if you have a layover. Great food, and cheap). While we were there, he tried a tofu dish that he loved (we even ordered a second plate for him, and he happily ate the leftovers of that at home). So last weekend, at a Thai restaurant, he happily ate the tofu triangles because he had learned that he likes tofu (or, tow-food, as he calls it).

Anyhow, while that’s been a useful rule we have instituted to expose our sons to new foods, we have discovered a definite downside. My elder son was once eating some strange concoction, like apple slices and mustard. I indulged him, letting him eat it – since he was eating. But when he asked me to try it, I had to say no (curling my nose – gee, I wonder where he gets it).

But then he used the line.
“Try it. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat more.”
Live by example, huh? Well, I tasted it. To my surprise, it wasn’t as horrible as I had expected. I actually had a second piece (to be sure my son hadn’t just hit on some great culinary discovery – the first time I ate apple slices with Brie I had been skeptical, but I’m sure glad I tried that). Turns out, it wasn’t THAT good.

But it did teach me that I’m not as open-minded as I’d like to believe. It’s not just up to kids to learn new things. And I’d hate to think of all the experiences I’d miss out on if I didn’t follow the Green Eggs and Ham rule myself.