Monday, May 21, 2012

Food Traditions: Milkshake Day!

We hear a lot these days about America's obesity, our addiction to food, how fat our children are, etc. And there are certainly some legitimate concerns. But sometimes it goes too far in the other direction (i.e. no birthday cupcakes at school...). I've tried to strike a balance in our "treats" at home. One of those balances is "Milkshake Day."

EVERY day, when I pick my daughter up from school, she immediately asks if I have a treat for her. (Where did this come from? I don't know.) When I say no (most days, to be sure), she then starts asking for milkshakes, fries, smoothies (depending on whatever restaurant we're driving by). I finally got the brilliant idea for "Milkshake Day." And the complaints have certainly dwindled.

She goes to a co-op that meets three days/week--Monday, Wednesday, Thursday. On the last Thursday of the month, we have Milkshake Day. We stop by Chick-Fil-A and everyone gets a milkshake. Doesn't break the bank or the waistline and everyone looks forward to it. I'm considering doing something similar with a once a week dessert night; why do kids think we need a dessert after every meal? We've never done that and it still seems to be an expectation. But maybe if they know we'll have dessert every Friday night, they can look forward to that instead of whining every night for it.

What are YOUR Food Traditions in your family?

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