Squid Anyone???

I ordered Calamari at a restaurant for my oldest daughter, Kayla a while back.   She has never tried the appetizer, let alone heard of it, so I figured it would be an opportunity for her to try a new food.  

As the waiter set it on the table, my daughter asked me what Calamari was.  Against my better judgement, I told her - squid.  The disgusted reaction on her face said it all.   Needless to say, she refused to eat the new food despite my efforts to convince her otherwise.  The thought of squid in her mind while eating the chewy food was too much for her to handle.  

Well, the other night I was given another chance to introduce calamari to one of my children.  Hannah and I were out and about on her birthday shopping adventure and on the way home from the mall was a restaurant that serves the best calamari.  I figured I could hit two birds with one stone.  I could eat the yummy calamari I have been craving for quite some time and introduce it to Hannah.  However, this time I was not going to not tell my child what calamari was until the end of the meal.  I only told her it was delicious and that she was going to love it!

At the restaurant, the waiter set the calamari on our table.  To my delight, Hannah willingly tried it and smiled.  Yeah!  She like it!!! So I asked her, "What if I told you it was squirrel?  Would you still like it?"  Her nose scrunched a little, but she claimed she would still eat it.   We talked for while about life and so forth, then I asked her, "Would you eat it if it was turtle?"  She had to think about this one for a while, but her final response was no.   After hearing this, I began to worry.  I was unaware that there was a limit to what my young daughter would eat.   What if she would be forever scarred once she learns that she just ate squid!  At this point,  I knew this experience had to end on a positive note.  

Over the next twenty or so minutes of eating our appetizer, we joked about all the different type of animals it could be.  For a moment there, she thought she was eating opossum and appeared quite thrilled when she learned I was kidding.  We giggled and laughed over the course of our meal when thinking of all the crazy creatures that calamari could be.  She was definitely relieved to learn she was not eating octopus or monkey meat!   

Towards the end of the meal,  Hannah decided to name of all the sea creatures that she could think of and eventually she mention squid. I could not help but smile and shook my head yes.  Ironically, she seemed untouched by her new found knowledge and had no problem eating another bite of calamari.  

We brought home the left over calarmi for my husband and other children to eat.  I am proud to report that they all loved it, with the exception of , Kayla, who tried it a couple months ago.    It is unfortunate that Kayla may never eat squid again, but I did learn important lessons in parenting, as well as life, from this squid experience.   The importance of pyschology when introducing something new to a child and that we can always learn from our mistakes.