Is This Just the Beginning??

I wasn't really sure I wanted to blog about this because it may make me look like a bad parent. But I decided that in a few years, I may look back on this and laugh.

Last night, we were gathered around the table for a family meal - nutritious and delicious - which consisted of skirt steak and southwestern salad fixings. Neither of these items seemed to be appetizing to my son, so he ate some mac & cheese with veggies mixed in (the only way he will eat veggies right now) and an apple.

After his mac & cheese, he took some bites of his apple and then proceeded to whine about wanting bites and threw the apple around on his tray (like a ball). So we took away the apple and cut off a couple of bites and put it in front of him.

He played with the bites for a couple of minutes and then decided that he really wanted the whole apple. And proceeded to throw a huge tantrum to make sure that we understood that. We told him that if he ate the bites (to demonstrate that he was actually hungry and not just wanting to play with the apple) then he could have the apple back.

We decided, as good parents, that he is old enough now to not get his way just because he is screaming and crying, and that this was a battle of the wills.

Ding, ding, ding... BATTLE OF THE WILLS (sounds like a new gameshow on Fox)

Round 1:
Child: (Screaming and Crying) BAPPLE, BAPPLE!

Parents: (Calm and Patient) Not until you eat your two bites. Let's count them together - One, Two. Then you can have your apple.

Child: (Mucus and spit flying everywhere) NOOOOOO!!!! (Screaming continues)

Round 1 Winner - Too close to tell. Child didn't eat the apple bites, but parents didn't give in.

Round 2:
Child: (Crying loudly with red splotchy face) Car! Play! (Changing the subject)

Parents: (The picture of patience) You can play with your car after you eat the apple bites.

Child: NOOOOO!!! CAAAAAARRRRR!!!! (On the verge of hysteria)

Round 2 Winner - Leaning toward the parents on this one. After all, they did pick up on the subtle subject changing tactic of the sly child.

Round 3:
Parents: (Turning on favorite Wiggles show and bringing out cheese) Why don't we try to eat some cheese with the apple bites?

Child: (Calming down) Diddles! Cheese! (Eating cheese and watching Wiggles)

Parents: (Sneaking a bite of apple into child's mouth and waiting until it is chewed and swallowed) See! You ate your apple bite!

Child: (Looking around confusedly) Diddles? Play?

Parents: Now that you finished your apple bites you can go play.

Winner of the BATTLE OF THE WILLS: Parents!!

I'm not sure if we really did win that one. It lasted for nearly 45 minutes with a lot more rounds than I just described before we got to the final one. Both Jon and I felt terrible afterward, thinking that we had just destroyed our poor little baby...

...until, 30 seconds later, we saw him pick up his cars and start running around the room playing like nothing had ever happened. Hmmm....pretty quick recovery for a child who had been supposedly devastated by his mean parents.