This morning I got up to find my baby girl Shayla chowing Down on a nut and chocolate trail mix for breakfast. She was cranking away on consuming the better part of the package which was almost a full pound, I think. She'd eaten about half the bag.
This is what happens when your child gets up soundlessly before you do in the morning and goes stealthily hunting and pecking through the contents of the fridge. On another occasion similar to this morning she had eaten 1/2 of a deluxe dark chocolate bar mixed with fruit and nuts by the time I had wizened to the situation. Who wouldn't want chocolate for breakfast if they could choose without any kind of natural consequence or remorse. ¡Viva Francia!, Right!?
Gone are the days, unless there's no other choice I guess, when she used to grab an apple or banana from the fruit basket on the table to begin her parentless breakfast chow session. I know that if no treats were available either via ladder, scaffolding, or other climbing strategy that the yogurt and fruit would suffice, but with such succulent snacks in the inventory it's an easy choice for a toddler on the loose. Temptation? What's that? I see it and I 'need' it. :)
The funny part about the subsequent parent/child conversation that takes place once I'm on the scene is the choice of subject matter that I choose to engage in. It's something that Shayla can relate to. It's something that she has some personal experience with. If you have or have had a toddler then you can relate to what I'm about to say because it's the only thing statistically works well in places where you have a choice. In short, you talk in terms that they can relate to. One thing that my toddler can relate to, and is appropriate to the matter at hand, is bowel movement difficulty. Once you've eaten 1/2 lb. solid of of a trail mix consisting of nuts, chocolate, and dried fruit one thing that may well be common to the whole control set of folks who have done just the same thing is a rock solid bowel movement some hours later that may, it just may--hurt coming out. My daughter remembers incidents like this from her earlier potty training days when she was literally afraid of bowel movements and would dread having them, trying to postpone them which would only make the experience more traumatic.
So I told her, "Okay kiddo, now that you've eaten 1/2 a pound of that lovely trail mix you're going to need to eat a banana and drink some water so that your poo is not a painful experience later". She Immediately understood and went for the banana right then, which also satisfied my desire for her to have some fresh fruit mixed in with her breakfast meal---a win for her (and her body) and a win for me in getting her to eat something a little better in the breakfast time frame.
Many things with children are partial, manageable 'wins' that are compromises on your part, because you learn very quickly that compromise in love is the name of the game. It's really quite a wonderful lesson in finesse and love---knowing, feeling where you should bend and where you shouldn't on a case by case, moment by moment basis. Parenting is a living, constantly moving teacher.
This is what happens when your child gets up soundlessly before you do in the morning and goes stealthily hunting and pecking through the contents of the fridge. On another occasion similar to this morning she had eaten 1/2 of a deluxe dark chocolate bar mixed with fruit and nuts by the time I had wizened to the situation. Who wouldn't want chocolate for breakfast if they could choose without any kind of natural consequence or remorse. ¡Viva Francia!, Right!?
Gone are the days, unless there's no other choice I guess, when she used to grab an apple or banana from the fruit basket on the table to begin her parentless breakfast chow session. I know that if no treats were available either via ladder, scaffolding, or other climbing strategy that the yogurt and fruit would suffice, but with such succulent snacks in the inventory it's an easy choice for a toddler on the loose. Temptation? What's that? I see it and I 'need' it. :)
The funny part about the subsequent parent/child conversation that takes place once I'm on the scene is the choice of subject matter that I choose to engage in. It's something that Shayla can relate to. It's something that she has some personal experience with. If you have or have had a toddler then you can relate to what I'm about to say because it's the only thing statistically works well in places where you have a choice. In short, you talk in terms that they can relate to. One thing that my toddler can relate to, and is appropriate to the matter at hand, is bowel movement difficulty. Once you've eaten 1/2 lb. solid of of a trail mix consisting of nuts, chocolate, and dried fruit one thing that may well be common to the whole control set of folks who have done just the same thing is a rock solid bowel movement some hours later that may, it just may--hurt coming out. My daughter remembers incidents like this from her earlier potty training days when she was literally afraid of bowel movements and would dread having them, trying to postpone them which would only make the experience more traumatic.
So I told her, "Okay kiddo, now that you've eaten 1/2 a pound of that lovely trail mix you're going to need to eat a banana and drink some water so that your poo is not a painful experience later". She Immediately understood and went for the banana right then, which also satisfied my desire for her to have some fresh fruit mixed in with her breakfast meal---a win for her (and her body) and a win for me in getting her to eat something a little better in the breakfast time frame.
Many things with children are partial, manageable 'wins' that are compromises on your part, because you learn very quickly that compromise in love is the name of the game. It's really quite a wonderful lesson in finesse and love---knowing, feeling where you should bend and where you shouldn't on a case by case, moment by moment basis. Parenting is a living, constantly moving teacher.