“Someday I’m going to be a grown-up like you and I’ll have to use that fork thing when I eat. So let me be a kid and eat my broccoli however I want, even if it’s with my fingers.”
She’s not wrong. I mean, she is eating the broccoli, I observe as she kicks her legs back and forth in her seat at the kitchen table. Her seat since she turned one. Same spot. No one sits there. If they do, she reminds them there are other places to sit.
I’m the one who gave her frozen broccoli florets when she was three. I thought it was odd, but that’s what her home daycare sitter did. She’d give all the kids florets of frozen broccoli on hot afternoons. Any time I took some out to add the obligatory green vegetable side dish to our dinner, she asked for a piece. In my curiosity, I gave her one, expecting her to toss it aside. She ate the whole thing and asked for more. Then she ate more at dinner.
Okay, so broccoli is a thing. She likes it, so why fight it? Now, it only gets eaten with seasoned salt. Small pieces. Warm, not frozen. Sometimes she’ll stab a fork into it, but I still see her occasionally get some with her fingers. I don’t argue anymore, because yes, sooner than I’d like, she’s going to be a grown-up like me and have to use that fork thing when she eats.
Nerds Beget Nerds 
That is a wise child! Your slice makes me wonder about the things we do as adults that we only do because we are adults….like eating broccoli with a fork!
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Exactly. She does have a point. Might as well enjoy being a kid.
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Awww, this is so sweet. I can see the legs of your little wise child swinging under the table. And frozen broccoli florets in the summer- why not? I am thinking! And why not have broccoli as a finger food. Asparagus used to be…
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Thanks for popping in. I still have that memory of her sitting in her chair. Now her feet touch the floor and there’s to tapping instead.
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At least she’s eating broccoli! 🙂 How cute is she when she told you how it’s going to be?!?
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Her words came out when she was younger. I get great blurbs and ideas from her. Wish I’d jot more down because some of the things she says are hilarious!
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The only way I could get my oldest to eat broccoli was by telling him they were little trees. I don’t know why it worked, but it did. The youngest wouldn’t go for it – until he was grown and only then under a thick layer of cheese. What profound self-advocacy, with eating the broccoli her way, and laying claim to her own seat! Yes, she;s eating it and that is what matters…wise to pick your battles.
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This child advocates for herself in a way I wish I would’ve learned to do at that age. We used the little trees with my oldest. It worked for the most part, but now he’d rather skip it.
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Alice, fun post with this little peek into your broccoli eater. I love the idea of eating frozen broccoli florets. I wonder if that would taste good on a hot day. Hmmm.
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Thanks, Denise. I’m glad it’s our go-to green veggie, although sautéed green beans is a close second. She hasn’t tried them frozen.
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What an interesting hack thrown in with a lovely, unique memory. And yes, they grow up way too soon, so why battle a little eating with fingers?
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