When we go to a nearby park, we all eat the lunch that Isi prepares for us.
My son Takeh is only 2 years old, so when we go out to eat, we don’t have to pay for the child’s food at the restaurant. This is because we can just share what the parents order. But in a year or so, when we go out to eat, we will have to pay for food for all three of us. For our family that goes out here and there on the weekends, this will be a considerable increase in expenses.
To prepare for such a possible future, we have decided to “bring our own lunch box when we go out. We have had the experience of eating onigiri (rice balls) bought at the grocery store when we go out, but we have not had the experience of eating food prepared at home.
Even though we “go out here and there,” most of our outings are to parks. When he says, “Park! Park!” on weekdays and holidays, we have many opportunities to go to parks with playground equipment.
However, I do not think that a large place like Ueno Park is considered a “park” by him.
Even when we arrive at Ueno Park, he asks, “Where is the park?” His definition of “park” seems to be an open space with slides and other children’s playground equipment.
Back to the story.
Takeh eats the lunch Ishi brought him. Then he just kept on eating the sausage.
Since Ishi is not a picky eater and I do most of the cooking at home, the bento she made consisted of “onigiri (rice balls) and sausage heated in the microwave. He just kept eating the sausage and even ate his parents’ portion.
I agree that sausage is delicious. However, I do not think it is good for a two-year-old to eat four or five sausages. I am afraid that he is getting too much salt and that if he gets used to the unique taste of processed meat, he will not develop a healthy sense of taste in the future.
Ishi and I discussed that we should avoid feeding him processed meat as much as possible, and he ate the sausages so quickly.
For some reason, he rarely tries to eat eggs. Whether it is a fried egg, a sunny-side up, or an omelet, he shows no interest. As a parent, it is disturbing that tamagoyaki, a staple of the Japanese bento box, is not a treat for him.
(2023.04.29)
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