We've FINALLY found something that works.
It's all about EXPECTATIONS.
It all started last week. Erik sat next to Thomas during dinner and said, "Thomas, we EXPECT you to try your food. We EXPECT you to eat this nice meal. That is our EXPECTATION." Picture Erik, serious face, really emphasizing those words.
Thomas responds by nodding seriously and putting the food into his mouth.
Erik continues to say it many, many times through out the meal. EXPECTATIONS.
"Thomas, we EXPECT you to eat your soup. We EXPECT you to put a big spoonful in your mouth. That is our EXPECTATION."
It's working.
I don't get it. I don't know HOW it's working. Erik isn't threatening Thomas with something bad that will happen if he doesn't eat the food. We're not offering dessert every night if he eats his meal. Erik just tells him he EXPECTS him to eat it. That is the EXPECTATION. If he sees the meal, he usually starts whining and says he's not going to eat it. But as soon as Erik says, "Remember Thomas, EXPECTATIONS," he gets right to it.
And no, it doesn't work if I do it. For some reason, Daddy is taken much more seriously than Mommy.
He has tried EVERY food we have given him for the entire week. He successfully ate some foods I've never gotten him to even try before: chicken soup, pasta, hamburger, meatballs, and zucchini, to name a few. Tonight at dinner, he even asked for MORE meatballs. I never thought that day would come.
EXPECTATIONS.
That's it from Boomerang Drive!
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