I was feeding Colin last night . . . sweet potatoes and rice cereal. I don't like sweet potatoes, but it's a normal enough food. Rice products are usually just fine. Seems like a perfectly humane meal. But then Colin grabbed the spoon and flicked it like a slingshot. Not a ton of food went flying, but some got on my hand, enough to taste. I just licked it off instinctively. The next few moments are a blur. All I can really remember is my tongue recoiling in shock.It's just not right, what we do to our kids. If we are to trust the experts, our kids' taste buds aren't fully developed. Okay, A) I never trust the experts. Just on principle. B) How would they know if a kid's taste buds are developed? Is it the same criteria as a typical parent applies? "Look, he's not screaming! He loves it!" Do they give babies horribly putrid mush just to see if they'll react. "10:30 a.m. Subject ate spoiled tofu laced with garlic and topped with strawberry cream cheese blended with vinegar to reach proper consistency. Subject made funny face, but ate everything. Taste bud development . . . negative." And C) Just because a kid can't taste like we can, does that justify spooning swill into his mouth?
Sure, the food is good for a baby, but what I tasted has no business sliding across the surface of a human tongue. Those foods are ingredients at best. Eating them alone is like chewing on baking soda or sipping raw egg whites. Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, and maybe that's a bit of an understatement. But it was gross, and it seems wrong.
Colin won't remember that I fed him this stuff. In his mind, there's no need to forgive me. In my mind . . . I don't know if I can forgive myself.
Course, on second thought . . . if this is my worst offense against my children, I'll die a happy man.
