Sweet Refusal

I'm in a quandry, curiously concerned about something that should please me normally. When our daughter celebrated her first birthday two weeks ago, my wife baked her a birthday cake. When it was served, decorated with lovely flowers of sweetness, the Boy dug in furiously. The Girl, however, was totally disinterested. There we were, camera poised for the face and frosting photos that accompany a first birthday and our daughter turned up her nose at the cake, refusing anything more than the initial taste. Despite all of the baker's pleas to indulge, she would not be moved.

Two days earlier, while enjoying lunch with the kids, I had opted for an orange scone. Its sweet, citrus icing looked tempting and I broke off a piece for the Girl. She took a taste and declined. She wanted nothing to do with it.

The Boy never really gets sweets. He hasn't been deprived but cookies are rare, candy non-existent. He's never tasted a soda and even juice is uncommon, with only the occasional splash into a cup of water. He doesn't seem any worse for the wear and rarely asks for sweets. Even when they are presented to him, he almost never finishes them. It's how he keeps that figure of his. Nonetheless, he does like sweets; he enjoys them. Even though its rare, we still get requests from him for something sweet. So what's the deal with the Girl?

This week we actually purchased some chocolate chip cookies. As we were finishing dinner one night, in an effort to buy his affection, I offered the Boy half a cookie. He enthusiastically took me up on my offer. I split it and broke up some of the remainder for the Girl. I put it on her tray. She looked down at it and then dismissed it with a sniff. When I tried to tease a little crumb into her mouth she turned away in full-on rejection. She would have none of it. We left the crumbs on her tray and she scattered them slowly amongst her fans: the dogs.

She loves fruit, pureed and mixed with oatmeal. Apples, pears, strawberries, peaches (not so much bananas) and will eat them happily, but when it comes to pure diabetes-inducing sweetness, she's a no go. From muffins, to cake, to cookies, we are becoming increasingly curious. We have taken to testing any sweet thing on her and so far, rejection, rejection, rejection. As my wife says, "How much sweet stuff will she refuse?"

Most parents would be delighted with this revelation and I'm not saying we aren't but, parents being what parents are, we are just a little - dare, I say it - concerned. I mean, what the hell is wrong with a kid that doesn't like sweets? With what are we supposed to bribe or withhold in order to achieve parental ends? She is thwarting us. And the Boy is always there, chocolatey smile on his face, asking, "She going to eat that?"