I
am trapped in a small room alone with a blonde 2 year old staring at me from a polka
dot stroller. He’s the son of my patient
who couldn’t find childcare this morning for our nutrition counseling
appointment.
“Will
you watch him for a couple minutes while I run to the bathroom?” she had asked,
wiping some sort of sweet potato goop off her sweater.
“Sure!” I had said, “No
problem”. But it is a problem, because I
have no idea what to do with a 2 year old for 2 minutes. I don’t have children,
don’t want them, never have, and have mostly equated spending time with them to
being on an awkward first date which I’m eager to see end. Usually, during these uncoordinated moments, someone else has been
around to fill in the blanks, make the faces, show the magic tricks, know the
latest lego’s. Sitting here, staring
back at this tot in Baby Gap’s finest, my head is a cavern of “I’ve got nothing.”
.My dozen or so babysitting experiences from 25 years ago yield no brilliant
ideas and I feel like an actor suddenly transported into a play whose script I
don’t have.
I’m
a nutritionist who works with adults battling health issues. I listen to medical histories, explore eating behaviors, educate on mineral
deficiencies, and recommend ways to lower cholesterol, and avoid gluten. Amidst a sea of knowledge of the latest
studies on fish oil, turmeric and avocados, I realize I am completely
inadequate when it comes to toddler speak.
