Behaviorism at the dinner table
Feb. 26th, 2009 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eve_primeD. is a very picky eater, and lately he's been complaining about the small range of options he has at dinnertime. The answer, I suggest, is that he should learn to eat new foods. Tonight's experiment: split pea soup. This went much better than the last experiment (roast beef), because no chewing was involved, but oh! the tears! The trauma! The horror!
Eventually I was spooning the soup into his mouth, as if he were two years old, and after each bit of soup, he'd drink enough apple juice to neutralize the flavor. After five spoonfuls, I let him have one of the french fries that were waiting for him, a rare treat I'd prepared as an incentive. After the next five spoonfuls (which went much more quickly), I let him have three fries. Three more spoonfuls of soup and it was gone, and the rest of the plate of fries became available.
But then, D. realized he didn't want the fries. Why not? "Somehow they remind me of the soup." I guess I have taught him to dislike french fries.
Eventually I was spooning the soup into his mouth, as if he were two years old, and after each bit of soup, he'd drink enough apple juice to neutralize the flavor. After five spoonfuls, I let him have one of the french fries that were waiting for him, a rare treat I'd prepared as an incentive. After the next five spoonfuls (which went much more quickly), I let him have three fries. Three more spoonfuls of soup and it was gone, and the rest of the plate of fries became available.
But then, D. realized he didn't want the fries. Why not? "Somehow they remind me of the soup." I guess I have taught him to dislike french fries.