They say it’s a grandparent’s job to spoil their grandkids rotten. Well, my mother has taken that saying to another level. Our 3-year-old son refuses to eat dinner unless Grandma is there to spoon-feed him, and it’s driving me insane.
I should preface by saying that I love my Mom to pieces. She’s always there to help out whenever we need her. My husband and I truly appreciate all the years she’s picked up our children from school.
Grandma watched the kids five days a week until my husband would return home from work. Since I decided to quit working full-time, she still manages to come by most nights to help out.
However, lately being helpful has become a bit of a hinderance when it comes to our son eating. He’s actually quite independent and has had no trouble feeding himself since the age of 6 months.
Don’t get me wrong; he was an absolute mess early on. I’d spend what seemed like an eternity cleaning up rice grains from the floor, broccoli bits, and smeared tomato sauce from the kitchen table.
But, all that hard work paid off – or so I thought. Grandma decided to start spoon-feeding our son again, which led to him regressing. At first I didn’t think anything of it. He began asking for help during mealtime.
“Can you help me?” he asked.
I can’t do it by myself,” he said.
That’s when I finally put two and two together! He wanted help because Grandma spoon-feeds him dinner every night.
I finally had enough and explained to her what was going on. “Well, he asked me to help him,” she explained.
I find it hard to believe that he has trouble eating pasta on his own. This little guy is a pro at using his knife and fork. Dinner doesn’t ever include anything like a “hearty hard to cut steak.” He just loves having Grandma sitting next to him and feeding him one noodle at a time. So, I gave in.
However, yesterday was the last straw. My mom couldn’t make it over for dinner, and that was a proven disaster. Our son sat at the kitchen table for over an hour refusing to eat because Grandma wasn’t there.
My husband and I tried everything to get him to eat, but nothing worked. Finally, I called Grandma and told her again why feeding him is a bad idea. “This is why I don’t want you feeding him. He refuses to eat unless someone spoon-feeds him,” I told her.
She didn’t seem fazed by what I told her. The next day she was back to the same routine. On one hand, I’m extremely frustrated because he won’t eat dinner without her. It’s like I’m fighting a losing battle.
On the other hand, she’s my mom and his Grandma. The reality is that she won’t be around forever.
Someday we’ll look back at this and reminisce. We’ll tell our son about the special relationship he had with his Grandmother, and appreciate these memories. In the meantime, I’ll just have to suck it up and deal with it.
Have you ever dealt with a similar situation? How did you handle it?
Commentsphoto: Stacy-Ann Gooden
Stacy-Ann Gooden (aka Weather Anchor Mama) can be seen delivering the weather forecast on the news in New York City. But her most important role is being a wife and mom. She writes about balancing career and motherhood in her blog, Weather Anchor Mama. You can also follow her on twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
