One Bite At A Time
There’s nothing more relatable to parents than the picky eater phase. You hear it all the time: “My baby used to eat everything... now they live off five foods!” It’s wild—and somehow kind of funny—how fast mealtime can turn from peaceful to a full-blown standoff.
In our house, we’ve got both ends of the food spectrum. Gemma, our bold little 4-year-old foodie, is always up for trying something new. Then there’s Jules, who at 3, has absolutely mastered the art of sweetly (and sometimes not-so-sweetly) saying “no thanks” to pretty much anything that’s not on her VIP list of approved foods. To be fair, she’s got a lot going on in that busy little brain, and we’ve learned to honor that.
When we first realized Jules might be what some would call a “highly selective eater,” we went straight to worry mode. Was she getting what she needed? Were we doing something wrong? That worry soon turned into frustration—because every meal felt like a mini battle. But over time, with a lot of trial and error (and patience… so much patience), we shifted gears. Instead of stressing about what she wasn’t eating, we focused on what made her feel safe, understood, and supported.
The truth? In just four short years of parenting (yep, Gemma is only four!), we’ve already learned that raising kids is basically a masterclass in letting go and adjusting on the fly. You start out with all these ideas—what your kids will be like, how meals will go, what kind of parent you’ll be. And then reality shows up in the form of a tiny human who has big. feelings about mashed potato texture. And you realize… your plan isn’t the only plan.
That lesson goes way beyond food. It shows up in every part of raising little ones. Their personalities, preferences, and quirks often shake up our ideas of how things “should” be. And when those ideas clash, suddenly you’re in a tug-of-war you didn’t even know you were playing. But here’s the thing—if you’re parenting for control, you’ll always lose. If you’re parenting with love, you’ll always win.
Because at the end of the day, your child isn’t trying to give you a hard time—they’re just figuring out how to be themselves, one banana slice (or firm “no” to it) at a time. And meeting them where they are, instead of where we think they should be, might just be one of the most loving things we can do.
And that—messy, humbling, and beautiful—is what parenthood’s really all about.
Love, Gemma and Jules’s mom