Mama 1 - 1 Grace

I talked some time ago in a post about the power of persuasion being a winning recipe for raising a toddler and wanted to tell you how thrilled I am it's still alive and kicking in this household! Mealtime today was a meat-free affair being Good Friday and all. I quietly confess I was ignorant to this until my Godmother Jennifer pointed me in the right direction. I thank her for this, wiping my brow since by some stroke of luck we'd eaten a vegetarian meal anyway. But that's not my news.

Grace has eaten edamame beans!

Not willingly, not at first, but down the hatch, 1, 2, 3.

Admittedly to many there won't be anything exciting about sitting down to a plate of edamame bean and mushroom stirfry with a satay sauce and rice. My father in fact would probably rather go hungry. And so would Grace it seems.

We're sitting at the table ready to tuck in when Grace casts me a sideways glance that clearly says "what the dickens is this?"

She's hungry so she eats, gingerly raising one spoon after the other, she chews slowly wrinkles her nose and pushes her plate away when she reaches a count of five. Five spoonfuls is not sufficient to see her through to morning-o'clock. Simply not good enough.

I cajole. "Come on Grace, eat some more stir fry."

She shakes her head. No.

"Are you still hungry?"

She nods her head. Yes.

"Then eat some more dinner," I tell her, pushing the plate back within her range.

She shakes her head. No. Pushes the plate back over to me.

I decide to bribe her. Remarkably for a toddler of 20 months she is decidedly open to bribery.

"You can have some some grapes if you eat three more spoonfuls of your dinner." This she does in rapid succession. I offer her a few grapes.

When she's cleared them, she asks for more. Shaking my head, I tell her if she wants another grape, she needs to eat three more spoonfuls. She does it. I pass her a grape.

And then my success peters out when she spits a spoonful out, half chewed beansprout and rice tumbling down into her lap. She shoots me a look that says she'd rather starve than pop one more edamame bean down the hatch.

I concede a drawer.

More from Mama's mealtimes soon x