Taste

Having my twins really changed my view on how big (or little) you’re influence is on certain behavior of your child. With my first one for instance I really thought that her sleeping behavior was a result on how we were handling things. She didn’t need much daytime sleep and always refused to go to bed early in the evening, but then slept the whole night through. There has been a period that we felt kind of guilty for not making her go to bed on a regular bedtime (like we saw most of our friends do with their babies). Then again, we’re not the kind of parents that make their kids cry for hours just so they will sleep at an ‘appropriate’ time.

Then enter the twins. I had no idea two little people who were born in the same family on the same day could be as different as they are. Both inside and out. I know now that sleeping habits are largely dependent on the child itself. Neither we nor the lovely ladies at daycare have in the first year been able to get the twins to sleep at the same times.

Same thing with taste, you can only influence the things they like and dislike so much. Of course letting them eat different things, having them see you enjoying eating and approaching eating as something fun will, in my opinion, influence them without a doubt, but the basis also is something in the child itself.

Today that was again illustrated when I was making them falafel. When I’m cooking they always get little snacks form the food I’m making and today I gave them small pieces pickles and chickpeas. My oldest ate and like both, but with the twins it was different. One of them really likes sour flavors and only wanted the pickles, she actually spit out the chickpeas. The other one put the pickles aside and ate lots of the chickpeas. There’s no doubt in my mind they both will eat (almost) everything like my oldest does, but I definitely need them to come a bit closer together.

The one that liked the pickles also liked the tomatoes, the other one mainly liked the cauliflower. In the end they both liked the falafel very much.