I like broccoli. I know it is not everyone’s jam. Did you know that the Bush Administration in the ’90s had a ban on serving broccoli anywhere in the White House and or Air Force One? Apparently, George Bush Senior disliked broccoli that much! My family is not a big fan either, and I have tried many times to get my kids to like broccoli.
Something interesting happened yesterday. I pulled some broccoli and hummus and ate it as a snack as the bus came home. I’ve been trying to get better at having healthy snacks in the afternoon. I get in that slump in the afternoon and grab empty carbs like goldfish. So once they entered the house, I offered my kids some broccoli. As I suspected, they both said, “Ewe, no, we don’t want any broccoli.” I didn’t push it. I just started asking them about their day. Then a crazy thing happened. My son pulls off a tiny piece of broccoli and nibbles on it. A nibble turns into a bigger bite, which turns into dipping into my hummus and asking for his own bowl to eat broccoli and hummus. Then my daughter says, “Okay, give me a piece just to try!” This led to her own bowl of broccoli and hummus.
Our kids are constantly watching what we’re doing and modeling what they see. Even when it seems like they are rebelling or saying things like, I don’t like broccoli; they desire to be led and have a leader to model for them. This is exactly what was happening. They just watched what I did and slowly decided it was safe to try themselves. What are you modeling to your kids? We model the good, the bad, and the ugly. My heart is to keep growing myself to give them the model they deserve!