Being a little too considerate

It is no news that Sebastian is a picky eater. VERY picky. His diet is crazy and definately very far away from recommendations to FA patients, let alone just a normal one. Having struggled for years with this, Tue and I have tried to come to terms with the fact that we cannot force Sebastian to eat a healthy diet. He can eat bread, pasta and rice, sometimes a sausages, and sometimes some bacon. No vegetables, no fruit, no 'real' meat. Well, he survives, and he is still gaining weight, although not very fast.

Every morning we make a lunch box for Sebastian which he brings with him to kindergarten. It is indeed a 'compromise' lunch box: only light rye bread, a 'choice' of chocolate spread or raisins. Whatever will make Sebastian eat - just a little. His level of activity is high, which means he must need some sort of intake during the day.

For some time, Tue and I have been nodding to eachother, when the kids are back home, and we scan the lunchboxes. Marie-Louise's is almost always empty. This is self-explanatory - look at her! She is still growth spurting, being long and rather heavy (or 'solid' as one of the volunteers at Camp exclaimed this summer!). Not chubby, but just a healthy, big girl. Sebastian's lunch box is very often also empty. Wow! Good job! Not that we have said this with words, we have just signaled this to eachother, because many years of eating disorder has taught us that we should avoid to praise food and avoid to praise whether Sebastian eats well.

But apparently Sebastian can read minds. When I picked him up in kindergarten the other day, one of the staff (Mette, who is excelent with Sebastian, and excellent in grasping small significant situations, and then share them with us) tells me (Sebastian was not present), that she had seen Sebastian throwing the rest of the food from the lunchbox in the bin. "Why do you throw out your food, Sebastian?" she asked him. "Oh, you know, my mother, I know she will be SOOO pleased with me, if the lunch box is empty, when I get home," he answered.

Nailed! Totally! No reason to dig further into the question of who has the upper hand here ;-) Just noting that Sebastian is indeed a very considerate boy!