Tip #11 - Breathe already!

My children INHALE their food.  As any helicopter mother will do, I dish them all up, prepare to sit down and they are asking for seconds.  I do not have an army to feed where getting to them takes some time - although we do have 2.5 the national fertility rate (according to the CIA world fact book), I should be able to sit down before anyone else needs refilling.  I finally decided to watch and see where all this food was going.  I kid you not, my 7yr-old was actually shoveling the food WITH BOTH HANDS into his mouth.  He honestly looked like a refugee that had not eaten for weeks - except he is plump, clothed and is wearing glasses.  (My apology to actual refugees.)  My 10yr-old had lowered his face until it was barely hovering over the plate had was taking heaping mounds of food that had to travel maybe 2cm. to reach his face.  I was astonished.  I am completely sure that they have NEVER seen me or my husband eat this way.  Are they really starving?  Do they think the food will actually run out?  Do they have somewhere they need to be?  (Poor excuse).  I reminded them of how they needed to act at the table and had the 7yr-old go and wash his hands.  (He was using both hands but only one fork.)  I then sat down and had a few bites of food until he came back and I needed to serve him again.  Later I thought I would just let them serve themselves so I could sit and enjoy the food for a change.  This required my 3yr-old to heap powered sugar onto his German pancake on his own.  (Actually he was going to do it himself regardless of me - he is STILL in the "me do it" stage and it is wearing thin.)  He spooned great mounds of the sugar onto his plate and I had him stop and commented that he now had mountains of sugar on his pancake.  He replied, "It's not a mountain, it's a pyramid."  I just went back to eating.