Mothering--The greatest project of them all

So, I guess you could call raising children a project. You set a goal and work to accomplish it. I guess what sets it apart from other projects is what a long-term goal it is and how difficult it is to gauge your progress while doing it. For these reasons, I don't generally think of parenting as a "project", but I do think it is the greatest project of our lives. Hopefully, we will accomplish our goal and see our children grow to be happy successful adults. Anyway, during this process of child-rearing, I think parenting involves many small goals. For example, I have always had a goal to raise healthy eaters. For the most part, I have succeeded so far. One way I have accomplished this is that I don't force my kids to eat their meals, but if they don't eat them, then they don't get any more food until the next meal. Sheer hunger drives them to eat what I give them. Of course, I can't rule out the possibility that simple genetics is to be credited for my kids being pretty good eaters. Both of their parents love food and love healthy food, so, it's in their blood, but I do like to make my self feel good by believing it is due to my parenting, well, "skills" :). Anyway, lately, my oldest has been going through a stage where he tries to get out of a certain meal, or a certain type of food, by saying he is not hungry yet. Being that I am currently pregnant, I've been too tired, and too hungry myself, to fight him over it or postpone dinner. However, I have noticed that not eating together has had a negative effect on our family. Also, it has allowed my son to be able to weasle his way out of eating what the family eats. So, I have discovered a great solution that I hope will help other mothers out there. I still tell him that if he doesn't want to eat what we are having, then he doesn't have to, but it is what is being served for that meal and if he doesn't eat it, he can't have anything else until the next meal (which might be breakfast the next day). But, I have added a new stipulation. He doesn't have to eat the food, but he does have to sit at the table while the rest of us eat, and he must "smell" the food. This works particularly good if there is a prepared plate right under his nose to smell. Without fail, every time I have done this, he has eventually decided he wanted to eat the food. Some times he will only eat part of the meal and skip parts he thinks he doesn't like. But, the point is he is eating what I am preparing for the family and we are eating together as a family. I think the sumptuous smells of a good meal combined with a hungry tummy and the inability to distract with another activity simply lead to eating what is in front of you. Anyway, I just thought I would share in case there are other mothers out there who fell like they can't get their children to eat what they prepared. Try out the smelling technique and let me know how it works for you.