The Competitive Mom

The thing I can't stand about some of these celebrity moms is how over identified they are with their children. The child is simply not allowed to have its own identity. A good example of this is Surie Cruise. The two are parading around in identical Armani outfits and Katie recently got a haircut to match her daughter's. The problem is that in Katie's case she looks more like she is trying to compete with her child than anything. In fact in some photos it is hard to tell who looks younger, Katie or Surie?

Some moms would probably really disagree with me but I think it is a big mistake to make your kid into your twin. It demons you by making you look younger and it makes the kid wonder who the parents are. You should not try to be narcissistic with your child unless you want to develop a full-blown codependency with him or her. Even real twins are not encouraged to dress alike or wear similar haircuts these days because it is toxic psychologically. A child needs to develop his or her own sense of self.

Another example of a mom that competes with her kid is Lindsay Lohan's mom. This is a mother that dresses like her daughter, goes out to all of the same night clubs as her and basically appropriates her identity wherever possible. She also drinks a lot and is into the celerity lifestyle of all night partying so it is not surprising that Lindsay turned out to be such a lush. This type of mother daughter competition is becoming so severe in celebrity land that even Dr. Phil did a show about it.

A competitive mom usually starts showing their jealousy of their own child quite young by stealing their friends, hobbies and styles of clothing. This often extends into adolescence when flirting with the boyfriend's beco0mes an issue.

According to an episode done on the Today show this t type of syndrome is more common than we think. The one gunmanship continues into adult hood. The mother makes comments that are a stab to her daughter's heart sitting there competing for the attentions of her husband and children.

I guess the moral of this story is that if you do not have a strong personality or emotional center than you probably should not have children. The damage you can do to a daughter by being competitive with her is immense. Jennifer Aniston is also a very famous example of this and so was Anna Nicole Smith. Mothers who competed with them with the result raised both that both were dumped completely from their daughter's lives.

The key is to let your daughter be who she is going to be and not to try and control her by insisting you wear the same clothes or have the same haircut. Remember that your child is not an extension of you. She is much more than that.

Making Treasure Triangles

I am always looking for good things for my toddlers to eat and I did find this great cookbook called The Toddler Café which was written by a mom like me for moms like me to try and get the kids to eat. The treasure triangle recipe works well as kids can help and also it has that novelty appeal like a Pizza Pocket or Pop Tart. Only this recipe is high in protein and very nourishing. It contains beans and bananas so the potassium level is high as well. Best of all they are delicious and my kids love them.

All treasure triangles really end up being are puff pastry with fillings inside. The kids can help by brushing egg white on the dough. If you explain to them that the better they do this the shinier the triangle will be they are happy to do it.

One thing about a treasure triangle is that you can put anything it and a kid will eat it even if the kid won't eat the food 'naked' on his or her plate. So they are a great way to sneak some nutrition into the diet.

To make Treasure Triangles you need two tablespoons butter, two bananas sliced in rounds, a can of black beans and some diced onion. You will also need egg wash, frozen puff pastry and some cheddar cheese.

First you sauté the bananas in butter in a flying pan and then move them to a bowl. You do the same thing with onions, which you also add to the bananas. You then add a can of beans to that and you season it with salt. Mash this entire flat with a potato masher or use the back of a fork.

You can then preheat the oven to 425 and begin to unfold the pastry sheets on a floured cutting board. You can put one tablespoon of cheese in the center of each square and then put one tablespoon of the red bean, onion and banana filling inside. You then fold up the dough just like it was a nappy and arrange the triangles on a baking sheet. Bake them until they are puffed up and golden brown which usually takes about twenty minutes.

If you put the raw dough triangles for five minutes before folding the filling up in them you will get a Triangle that is shaped a little nicer.

Although the banana and red bean combination sounds odd it actually isn't. It is very flavorful and it is a great way to sneak some protein into your kid's diet. It is also a very soft food so it is good to serve teething types as well as older types who may be missing teeth.

You can also experiment with other fillings as well. I had some success with applesauce and yams together inside the pastry as well.