Sandwich Power

If you are a parent or have ever cared for kids you know that they can eat and be hungry an hour or two later.  There is a threshold of time before you can enter the danger zone of entering the phase of sweet angel to ragingly hungry monster.  Read the story of my little monster and learn not only that feeding kids often is vital but how your child's inner caveman can be brought out.

So we entered the threshold of a few minutes past eating and monster phase was quickly approaching.  When this phase occurs nothing is good, everything looks bad to eat and just about everything in life is as if someone is poking the monster with sticks. Not to mention it feels like the end of the world.

At this stage we knew monster was in full motion so Mom just decides to take action and quietly make a sandwich.  But I don't like sandwiches or meat or cheese or peanut butter or bread or ANYTHING!  That's fine honey.  Maybe you can find something else.  I don't want anything else! 
Mom: Well, I am going to go eat my sandwich in the other room.

With no other ammo the monster retires to her room perplexed about what just happened.

Just by chance;) Mom left out all of the sandwich ingredients on the counter and peeked out the door of the room and saw the little monster pull out some bread,  put a slice of cheese and meat on it and quietly take it to her room.  This little monster at age 4 never made a sandwich before, but her caveman hunger took over and the monster realized that he was being taken over by caveman instinct of...see food, make sandwich...and the monster slowly went away.

The morale of the story is...avoid the monster by feeding him frequently but never give into a monster that has caveman abilities.  Never underestimate what your child can do for themselves.  It does not do them any service to do things for them that they can do themselves.  Our goal as parents is to teach our children independence, how to be self reliant and support learning so as they grow older so they are not reliant or even codependent on others.  If you are ever not sure if a child can do something give them the "sandwich" test and you just may surprised and proud of what your child can do.