I made chocolate chip cookies today...and I tell you, Gabriel had his eyes on them from the moment they came out of the oven. I decided not to give him one though, because it was just before dinner, and like any good mom, I didn't want to ruin his appetite ;-). We had turkey meatballs and pasta for dinner. Now Gabriel sometimes balks at dinnertime...not because he's not hungry, but because he's decided to be stubborn. I've been telling David not to let Gabriel sit on his lap while he's trying to eat, because he let Christina do that...and it took us years (literally) to finally get Christina to sit at the table and eat her dinner, without whining the ENTIRE time. She would never eat dinner, and David would just let her go get a cup of applesauce out of the fridge so he could eat in peace. I really don't blame him...any man would want a nice dinner at home after a long day at work. But I'm determined not to let Gabriel fall into the same habit.
So Gabriel fussed and fussed after I gave him his plate. He sat on David's lap for a minute, and I told David (begged him really) to please put him in his chair, and let him cry. Well, he did, and after a few more minutes, Gabriel got down without eating a bite.
By now, all the other kids were finished and happily munching away on chocolate chip cookies. Gabriel howled in protest...he certainly thought he deserved one. But we keep telling him, "If you want a cookie, you have to eat your dinner. " That just made him break out in fresh tears every time. You'd think we were torturing the poor kid...okay, we were...but it's for his own good, darn it!
Everyone ran outside to go play and ride bikes, except David and Gabriel. I was on the couch, nursing my big toe (my neighbor's little girl dropped her scooter right on it, and man...it hurt). Gabriel was still holding out for a cookie, but David held firm (thank you darling!). Gabriel gulped down one more sob, climbed into his booster seat, and started to eat his dinner.
He kept on eating...David and I cheered him on...and he finished that plate in less than 5 minutes. 2 meatballs and 6 pieces of rigatoni pasta. Well...we were hungry after all! We praised him, kissed his sweet cheeks, and gave him his cookie. You never saw a toddler so happy...he held that cookie with both hands like it was precious treasure, and was happy as a clam :-).
I looked at David and said, "See, I told you, he's smart, and he totally understands that he has to eat dinner first." David just went on doing the dishes...but I'm sure he sees it too. He is rarely home to eat dinner with us, so I was glad he was the one being tough, instead of me!
Today's Score:
Gabriel 0
Mom and Dad 2
I wonder what tomorrow's score will be? Gosh, we're such mean parents!
We're a big 'dessert' family - you can probably tell from my cooking blog - and we do this type of discipline all the time! We always tell the kids, if you don't eat your meal, you don't get dessert. And, we don't pile the food on the plate like some families (we are reasonable like the serving you described for Gabriel). As a parent, you have to do the tough stuff. The rewards are much farther reaching than a cookie at the end of a meal ... for the child. Good job, Mom & Dad!!
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