Traumatized For Life-YEARS of therapy!

[Kerileanne99]

So I am pretty sure I have just traumatized my child for lfe.

A bit of background..We currently live in Texas, are vegetarians (rather, hubby and I are veggie, A is daughter of veggie parents!), and have a fairly healthy eating style. A is allergic to Milk and eggs, so this makes for extremely challenging dinners!

So we went back to the UK for Christmas as usual, but this is the first year that kiddo was really eating food. (She just turned 2 in Dec!). I did think the transition might be a bit difficult (we go for a month), so I made sure to take plenty of the kiddie snacks she is used to, but didn't worry too much because she adores fresh fruit and veg.

Long story very short, A pretty much refused to eat over there.  If you have not traveled between the countries, EVERYTHING tastes different in the UK, even things that are exactly the same Brand Name- Like Ritz crackers, Campbell's Tomato Soup, you name it.  She started saying, "Something to EAT!", but when we gave her something, she didn't actually eat it..I didn't worry too much about it because she has been working on getting her upper and lower molars and goes through stages such as this.
It got so bad that I even gave her back a bottle of milk substitute at nap time and bedtime because I could tell she was losing weight....
In addition, she has been going through some strange, unidentified food allergies...nothing life threatening, but Culminating on Xmas morning when she helped herself to a bit of chocolate sweetie that had been left on a table...hives on her face, vomiting, and serious irritability later, she and I ended up missing dinner, staying home in bed, and rearranging airplane tickets to come home early...

So another horrible, 24 hours of travel later, and we arrive back home...I kid you not. The first thing my toddler did was race to the pantry, throw open the door, wave her arm and shout,"awl the FOOD!". For a week straight we humored her demands for snacks, of which she would eat only a bit, before wanting another...I thought she just missed her favorites!

So we return to gymnastics class, and my kid starts chasing the other kids around, shouting "needs something to EAT!".  Huh?  She did this until we assured her that their mommies/daddies would
get them some food if they were hungry.. Now all the animals we see, even birds in the sky, are apparently hungry!!!!!

I now think that she didn't realize that the food she was used to doesn't exist in the UK, despite my
explanations...so she just thought that WE WEREN'T FEEDING HER!! Wow.  How tiny do I feel...Forget EL, forget about my plans of exposing her to different cultures... (we also went to Scotland, Wales, and Paris!). All my poor kid is going to remember is that her parents took her on a trip and didn't feed her... Like I said, years of therapy... Have any of you been through anything remotely similar? I have no idea how to make her understand...She fell in Absolute Lust with Chocolate Buttons in the UK, (she doesnt get much candy at home, but mommy was a bit worried about eating over there Nothing like starting up a good set of bad habits! hhmm, Galaxy, hhhhhhhmmmm.) we don't get them here, so I have used this as an example, but...

Anybody else have a story or suggestion that I'll make me feel like I am not the only parent to inflict permanent damage on their poor children?

[Maquenzie]

This won't permanently damage her.  If you were giving her food, wether she ate it or not, she won't think you were starving her.  Because you weren't!

But I can relate to the very limited food choices. We are also a vegetarian family dealing with food allergies. I always joke that no one likes to eat with us. Lol

[seastar]

That is just too funny! Want me to send you some chocolate buttons?

[lois1]

Do you know I'm at least 5 months away from my next Galaxy fix.. did you have to mention that?:-) Fortunately I have hoarded some cream eggs from last yr so should make it. Ha ha, very funny story though (from an observer's point of view). Sorry you didn't get to enjoy the entire trip.

[Kerileanne99]

Hi Lois1!
I would say I feel your Galaxy pain...but I smuggled 10 large bars back in my carryon And it would have been more if it hadn't been for the massive Ziploc full of Bisto and other various sundries! 

I miss Scotland so much though!  My hubby was born in Stirling, lived in Campbelltown (sp?) for quite a few years before his family moved to North Yorkshire for more educational opportunities...He missed it so much he returned and went to Uni in Edinburough...maybe someday...
For some reason, the University where hubby now teaches has more than a few Scottish Expats that came for short periods, married Americans, and are now here indefinitely! 

We are hoping to educate our daughter with the intent of preparing her for whichever country we end up in...I have been researching homeschooling options that will meet both US and UK requirements, and have discovered that this will not be as difficult as one would suppose...it is quite a bit of information, so I will compile it with some important links and post a new thread...I even discovered that most local councils in the UK will provide a certain amount of free homeschooling materials...if you still have family there this might be an option for you as well...there are also many schools online now, designed just for Expats, although they are not cheap!

The US, Australia, Ireland, England, and Scotland all have so many different programs to offer, each with their own strengths and weaknesses...I really want to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible, with as wide a cultural scope as possible! Now that I found BrillKids, it seems like a much more reasonable goal!

Also, I would love to hear about favorite programs from countries I have not mentioned here...I know next to nothing about education elsewhere, and have already learned some fantastic ideas here

[TeachingMyToddlers]

LOL, cute story from an outside perspective! I agree, no permanent damage done, and what a great story to tell her when she's grown. Maybe it's time to make her some LR files...."American Food" and "UK Food"

[Korrale4kq]

I think my son is very close to your daughters age. Born December 10th 2009.

I am An Australian living in Ohio. My husband is American. Besides my family, I miss the food more than anything. It is amazing how much food shapes you.
 
For food I would search out a World Market or Cost Plus. Those often have a decent selection of British favourites. I go there to get my fix of tim tams, Vegemite and crunchies. I have also startled to cook a lot of Aussie foods. Pavlova, sausage rolls. I served them up to some friends for Australia Day and they were a huge hit. My little Aussie boy loved the fairy bread and Vegemite on toast most of all though.
 
I know you live in the TX, but I am not sure where it is a big state, I know they have an Australian store in the San Antonio area. I am jealous of anyone who lives there. I assume there are some British food stores around. If not anywhere near you, possibly online?

My interest is also piqued by these online schools for expats. That might be something to look into.
I currently plan to homeschool my son. When he gets older I am thinking off shipping him off to Australia to visit family and possibly do school there for a month each year. The thought of parting with my son sickens me now. But I think it would be good for him. He knows his grandma very well from when we see her but more so via weekly Skype sessions.

[aangeles]

I am not British (not by a long shot!  ) but grew up reading about and being fascinated by all the "scrumptious" food in my Enid Blyton books. 

Anyway, a couple of years ago, I was looking for the complete series of the Ladybird Read-It-Yourself books in hardback for my daughter when I stumbled upon this website and this thread reminded me of the site again: http://britishislesonline.com/  And, Lois1, I noticed that they also carry Galaxy bars!   

I ended up ordering the entire Read-It-Yourself collection from their website, but, checking back now, they don't appear to carry this particular series anymore. They do have other British children's books and stuff: http://britishislesonline.com/children.aspx. I have never ordered any of their food, so I can't vouch for that, but their customer service is pretty good.

 

[Kerileanne99]

Korrale4kq-
You are right! My daughter is just 2 days older than your son, so I am sharing both your joy and pain
We love CostPlus, World Market, and Whole Foods, all of which do tend to carry a nice array of British foods...we have also discover that Indian Food stores tend to carry a nice variety of British foods!

Unfortunately, we live smack dab in the middle of Nowhere, and the nearest of any of these is at least 2.5 hours away    Texas is MASSIVE!  We finally purchased a mammoth-sized deep-freezer so that we can accommodate a lot of frozen foods like Quorn products...luckily, we do have a local farmers market here in town to supply produce, but...it is just me or have other people familiar with UK produce noticed that even fruits and vegetables taste different here!!!???
I have actually read a bit about this, and it turns out that the different levels of minerals, especially nitrates in the soil, cause this...for example, I am from Idaho, and can clearly identify potatoes from there...(I know, total cliche!). It turns out that the soil in Idaho includes a lot of volcanic ash, and this accounts for a very specific taste and texture!
Okay, tangent of the day...
We do purchase quite a bit online but it is never the same...
So, for those of you Brits dying for a Gregg's Pasty...I fell in lust with cheese and onion pasties a few years
ago and finally discovered what I think is the secret...I have a fantastic recipe that includes instant mash and Coleman's mustard...if you are interested, let me know!

As far as UK homeschooling and online schools, I will try to put together a separate thread this weekend...it is quite a bit of information, but I think it is well worth it!  While in the UK at Xmas I made quite a few enquiries as well...if anybody has done the same for other countries, Please chime in...I would be well- interested! Maybe we can get together a sort of exchange of cross-country, cross-cultural materials through LR and other materials...

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