Standing in our kitchen and not bothering with a plate, Mr T was biting into the dense sweetness of a sour cream glazed doughnut from Tim Hortons, crumbs raining down on the tortured kitchen floor. When he was down to one final, fat morsel to savour, Baby A let out an indignant protest.
Tugging at his trouser leg and craning her neck, there was no question that our 13-month-old wanted a bite of whatever her father was so obviously enjoying. “She really wants a taste,” Mr T said, clearly in awe that our picky daughter has shown interest in a food item being ingested by an adult. “Can I let her have a taste? Please?”
Not too long ago, I would have issued a resounding “no”. My own lifelong food issues and weight problems have made me obsessive about everything my daughter does – or does not – eat. Every decision – from when to introduce her to solid foods and whether or not her first taste should be of something sweet or something savoury, to how many hours to allow to pass between each meal – has been based on piles of research, mounds of reading and scores of sleepless nights.
I thought I had it all figured out: I would provide wholesome, nutritious, balanced meals made with organic, fresh produce, and Baby A would be the healthiest girl there ever was. And yet, despite my best intentions, Baby A was not interested. Never did she ask for a taste of a dish, or show interest in what I was feeding her. Every mealtime was a struggle to get her to swallow the food lodged in her mouth. No matter how inventive I got with her dishes, or how varied her cuisine, it was always a matter of two or three bites taken willingly and the rest forcibly shoved down her throat.
Which is why we had reached a point where both Mr T and I were dancing with joy in our kitchen while feeding our daughter tiny pieces of a doughnut, giddy in joyous disbelief that she has shown an interest in something so sinfully sweet. Mr T only stopped dancing so he could record the phenomena and Whats-App it to family near and far.
Despite my perseverance that she would not be fed processed junk and not raised on Happy Meals and sweets, Baby A’s lack of interest in food means that my best intentions have backfired; Mr T and I are now desperate for her to eat pretty much anything. She eats her fruit, she eats her vegetables; she eats her organic chicken breasts and salmon fillets and omega-3 eggs and red quinoa, but it always feels like she’s eating because we’re making her eat and not because she wants to or because she’s genuinely enjoying her meal or snack. We’ve offered her chocolate, ice cream, cake, French fries – all of which were previously contraband items in my daughter’s life. Nothing got her to lick her lips and ask for more. We questioned whether she was even really our daughter. How can I be related to someone who spits up chocolate and turns away from ice cream?
Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t allow her children to eat pasta, bread or rice, forcing them to live a carb-free existence. And Madonna lives by a non-negotiable set of rules: her kids are only allowed to eat a macrobiotic, vegetarian, organic diet. I don’t even know what macrobiotic means. I don’t want to be like that: I don’t want to forbid food or label something as “evil” only to have her gorge herself on it later because I never allowed her a taste.
What I want is to instil healthy habits in my daughter, so that one day, when she’s craving something sweet, she’ll reach for an apple or a handful of blueberries. And when she’s parched and dying for a drink, she’d pour herself a refreshing glass of water, because it’s in her nature to do so.
Hala Khalaf is a freelance writer living in Abu Dhabi
artslife@thenational.ae
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 445bhp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh474,600
On Sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
WHAT%20IS%20'JUICE%20JACKING'%3F
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.