This archive report was first published on 17 September 2019.
As I sit here, reflecting on my childhood, I am reminded of the thick, brown porridge that was a staple in our household. It was made from whole meal, with hints of sugar, and served in a plastic cup with holders on both sides. I recall the cool-kid additives like margarine or processed milk being non-existent, and how my mother would use the same milk for her evening tea to help generate breastmilk for me to suckle.
My mother's approach to feeding me was strict, with harsh instructions and a pair of slippers nearby to urge me on. Each spoonful was offered alongside the warning, 'fungua mdomo... haya meza! Fungua hii mdomo vizuri nitakutandika! Meza haraka!' (open your mouth, eat quickly, I will scold you if you don't!). One of the slippers would be raised in the air to remind me of the brutal way to make me obey and swallow as fast as possible.
Fast forward to my own parenthood, I found myself subconsciously inheriting that skill and carrying it into my own parenting. However, my approach was smoother, lighter, and laced with additives and enough sugar. But despite my best efforts, my son hated the porridge with his all, spitting out the first sip and throwing a major tantrum whenever I tried feeding him.
Desperate for a solution, I called upon my mother's expertise, and she recommended a traditional approach using millet, sorghum, and groundnuts. She handpicked the best ingredients from the fertile farms of Vihiga and mixed them with sun-dried and ground into grade one flour at the same posho mill that floured my porridge when I was a baby.
However, even with this new approach, my son refused to eat the porridge. He would take one sip and let out a long, sharp wail, and then toss out the contents, tears angrily flowing down his cheeks. Day one had started off on a bad note, but I concluded he was probably just moody, and there was time to try again until we got into it.
But as the days went by, it became clear that we were never going to reach a point of convergence. In fact, I ended up eating all the porridge in the months that followed, and even gained weight. It wasn't until a few months later, when I took him to play with a friend in the neighbourhood, that I realized he had a different taste for porridge. According to the report, he was the one asking for refills faster than his host!
Published on September 17, 2019
