“I remember taking my daughter to a diner when she was young. I decided she could have her own plate instead of just sharing with me. But I had to just guess at what she wanted to eat, because her communication was about ten words and 40 rough signs, and none of them were for food they had at the diner. So I asked her if she wanted eggs, hoped I understood her response right, and wished I could know what she really wanted.
It was a victory when she ordered her own meal at the same diner a few years later (eggs and toast). Now seven, she is happy to share her many opinions on food with you. She wishes we would bring her to McDonalds like her grandparents do sometimes. She loves tacos, pizza, and salad. She picks dinner one night a week, and tries to negotiate for fewer veggies in her lunchbox. She doesn’t always get what she wants every meal, but she can tell me, and we can talk about it, and that makes all the difference.
~Mom