Taste buds

I once read somewhere that as you grow older your taste buds actually deteriorate so that when you are older you have a lot  less taste buds than you did when you were a kid. This is why kids don’t like spicy things and why food is so important to them, they can taste everything! Funny about tasting and kids, they seem less likely to try things to eat because they are taking a bigger risk than grown-ups, the impact is greater and with all those taste buds, the consequences more dramatic. So, maybe food is what sets the stage for kids, they look at something and make the assessment that they are not going to like it based on how it looks, its shape, etc. Grown-ups already have developed that sense that tells us yes/no/maybe and some little light goes off in our heads that says “go for it”. Kids, though have that “danger Will Robinson” kind of reaction to new things be it food, experiences, etc… until they are really sure they are going to like something they just stay put.I have been trying to convince the children not to treat everything like food. I have been trying to encourage them to be more adventurous and try new things but they look at me like everything is going to be too spicy. It occurred to me over the last few months that I may be asking them to go too far out of their comfort zone. And it also occurred to me that I may be pushing this idea of spending time together way too far. I realized this when summer camp started. They spend their days swimming, playing sports, taking hikes and even horseback riding (I wish I could go to summer camp!) Then they go into an aftercare program for about an hour or so. One day when I came to pick them up, Jacob (the 11-year old) was playing with Legos. He was really involved in what he was doing and built a really cool helicopter. On the way home I was running through my head what we were going to be doing that evening and it occurred to me the children had been running all day and then doing creative things after that and my expectation was that they were not going to retreat to their TV room when we got home. OH DEAR! It really hit me. They need down time, too. Yeah, I want to see them and do things with them but not when they are cranky and tired. So, with summer camp, I have been more relaxed about the video games during the week.