11.27.2008

What I Am Thankful For Today

Leelo eating apples for the first time in five years:



Seymour and the girls are celebrating Thanksgiving at Seymour's parents' house, so it was just me and Leelo today. We had a lovely hike with Ep and Merlin mid-day, but then had several hours before our friends Godfather M, Roo & Spot, and Ep & family showed up for take-out Indian food Thanksgiving dinner.

I decided that break would be a good time to see if Leelo would try a new food, if I provided enough:

  • Incentive (he didn't get an afternoon snack until he tried a bite of apple)
  • Positive reinforcement (huge big production and praise when he did try a bite)
  • Role modeling (yum yum, look, this is such a delicious apple, I love it! I think you will like it too because it's crunchy like veggie chips!)
  • Isolation (no one but me to hit or act out on)
  • Patience (I had four hours to wait him out)
It took 2 1/2 hours. He wasn't pleased, but he also didn't throw nearly the kind of fit I was expecting. And then he started eating the apples voluntarily.

I am very, very proud of Leelo for finally taking that leap of faith, for trying a new food for the first time in years. And I told him so, frequently, for the rest of the day.

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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:36 PM

    YAY for Leelo!!!!

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  2. Anonymous7:03 PM

    Yay Leelo! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  3. This made my day! I replayed the video several times. :):) Leelo is such a champ!

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  4. Awesome! He is so cute! I am an apple junkie. I can't eat much sugar so I have an apple every afternoon. My favorite are Pink Lady apples. They are like candy.

    Glad to know we are not the only ones struggling with food issues. Maizie is ten and we still have struggles in this area. She has major food jags. A few weeks ago all she would eat was spagettios. That lasted for months. Then, suddenly she says she will never eat them again. Too bad I have a pantry full of spagettios that no one will eat.

    When she was two to three she would only eat orange foods. It becomes a challenge to find foods that are healthy and orange.;)

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