The small wonderful things that happen throughout the years as the result of consistency and repetition show me the power of the small wins. When Emir was young, he struggled a lot with sensory challenges. By the age of three, there were only two or three things he was able to eat: chicken nuggets, yogurt, and milk. As he grew up he would separate meals by texture and just eat the ones he was able to chew. Even things he wanted to eat badly, such as hamburgers or pizza, he would separate all the ingredients and just eat them separately. For someone like me, who loves fruits, veggies and has been always obsessed in a good way with nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, watching Emir grow up without the ability to eat his fruits and veggies has been painful and many times frustrating. Yaya on the other hand has been always the opposite. She is a veggie and fruit lover. Going back to Emir, respecting his limitations while pushing fruits and veggies became a lifetime goal for me, but I never gave up.
Sixteen years later and with a little help from the isolation that COVID19 has brought to our lives, Emir has finally learned to enjoy his veggies and fruits. He eats all kinds of veggies, and yesterday for the first time in his lifetime he peeled a banana and ate it all by himself. You can tell he still struggles with sensory issues. He closed his eyes before the first bite and kept closing them while chewing and swallowing every piece. “Ha. It was good. Now I like bananas,” he told me right after.
In the path to these happy days, Emir has struggled with chewing, with frustration when he wanted to try or eat something but his oral muscles didn’t tolerate the texture. He has needed much more support to establish healthy eating patterns and to find self-control and balance as he grew up and started trying new things. Giving him only the things he can eat has never been the case. I kept trying and introducing new flavors and textures and it only has taken 16 years but is working.
Consistency, repetition, and a good example are everything. I am sure not every child is the same and not all will get there; however, all children deserve and need the opportunity to keep trying, to learn self-care, and be aware of what’s good for their bodies.
