The Food Game By Dream Weaver

How many games do we play in order to get our kids to eat a decent meal? From empty threats to fancy presentations, I think I’ve tried it all. I have a negotiator who starts every meal by declaring how many peas she will eat, what portion of the chicken breast she will consume, and how much ice cream she will get in return. I have a sensitive artist who takes great delight in the presentation of the meal, and tries foods based on the appearance on her plate. For her, I arrange pasta in a semi-circle around the edge of the plate, add 3 meatballs for eyes and nose, and gently place peas across the bottom to look like a smile. Last, I have a picky eater who shrieks at the threat of being seated at the table for hours until the plate is clear. It never worked when I was a kid, and yet there I am telling my son that he can sit there until his peas are gone.

I was recently given a game called The Food Game that takes a new approach to an old problem. The game consists of placemats with color-coded squares that correspond to a type of food. Each person spins a spinner and moves his piece along his placement. If he lands on a green space, for example, each person at the table must eat a vegetable from his or her plate. Other colors translate to a protein or a starch.

Although I thought my 9 year old would consider herself too old or too cool for this game, I quickly realized that her hyper-competitive nature turned her into a policewoman who would evaluate whether others followed the rules and ate what they were supposed to eat. My other daughter treats it like an X game – Extreme Eating, the crazier the meal, the better. It was an instant hit with my 4 year old who likes to follow the rules that came with the game (as long as he wins - otherwise rules are added at the last minute to change the outcome). We read through the rules together the first time we played and we made a few changes such as dice instead of the spinner and a prize for the winner.

I started playing this game with meals I knew they would like, and I have gradually introduced new foods. We laugh throughout the game at the faces and methods used to down an unfamiliar vegetable or brown rice. With one hand placing a green bean in her mouth while the other hand is plugging her nose, my daughter grimaces and quickly chugs a shot of milk. I sometimes feel like I am preparing my children for a future on a reality TV show where they will be forced to eat gross things, because they often compare vegetables to earthworms, compost, or mud (I should note that I do wash my vegetables before I cook them). Sigh. Maybe they’ll just end up with an appreciation for broccoli…

If you think you’ve tried everything to get a healthy meal in your child’s belly, give this simple and fun Food Game a try. I would also recommend this game as a gift for a parent of young kids.

You can find out more about The Food Game on www.kidwinks.com.

Sometimes the Perfect Day does not go as planned… By Dream Weaver

My two daughters, who enjoy live theater very much, expressed an interest in seeing Mary Poppins this summer. When I looked at the available dates, I noticed that Kids Restaurant Week was the end of June and I was thrilled to pair an elegant dinner downtown with Broadway in Chicago. This was the rare occasion when my girls eagerly coiffed their hair and donned a fancy dress without any hassle from mom. We invited their cousins and grandma for a very fancy girls’ night out.

We started our night at Lockwood in the newly remodeled Palmer House Hilton. The young girls’ jaws dropped when we walked up the steps to the main level. From the fine furnishings to the well dressed hipsters milling about, it was one of their more memorable people-watching experiences. We requested the special menu for Kids Restaurant Week, which is an annual fundraising and awareness event for Green City Market in Chicago. Participating restaurants create three course meals for children to introduce them to new dishes made with ingredients from local and organic farmers. My girls still talk about last year - the edible flowers at Prairie Grass and the mini fish tacos at Blue Water Grill (now closed). The menu at Lockwood was disappointing because of the standard fare that was offered to kids. When my daughter ordered grilled cheese, I envisioned whole grain bread with an exotic cheese and baked sweet potato fries. Instead, it was American cheese on white bread with a side of deep-fried potatoes. My other daughter had a bowl of spaghetti with marinara sauce. Both choices were very bland – not what I was expecting from an upscale restaurant participating in Kids Restaurant Week. My niece started with a bowl of fruit that looked delicious, but it did not reflect what is in season right now. Although I was disappointed with the meal, the young girls were thrilled with the ambience and certainly didn’t complain about French fries for dinner.

We went to Mary Poppins at the Cadillac Theater in Chicago and we had a good view from our seats. Ten minutes into the production the curtains went down and the audience was told the show would be delayed due to technical difficulties. The girls were very well behaved for about 5 minutes before they started to fidget. We appeased them with some games on our cell phones and a quick tutorial on how to send a text message to Daddy. When that grew old, we left our seats and walked around the theater lobby enjoying the ornate decor. Almost an hour after the start, a man appeared on stage and said the show could not go on. Of course, the girls kept saying “the show must go on”, and I was thinking the same thing.
We stood there stunned for a few minutes and then started to file out of the theater. My darling 7 year old in her sparkling sequined dress looked up at me with her big blue and said, “Mommy, this sucks.” I asked where she learned that language and she said she heard it at a Blackhawks game. I didn’t bother reprimanding her. I held her hand as we walked into the pouring rain and said, “Yep. It sure does.”