Parenting at Its Best

So tonight I became my mother. We all vow that we "will never do THAT to our kids"... but I did it. I made my little boy sit at the dinner table until he ate his carrots. This took just a little over an hour. I remember sitting for hours (or what seemed like it) staring at a bowl of cold oatmeal. I used to hate oatmeal. I blame this staring experience on me not eating oatmeal or any hot cereal for that matter until I was well over 20. I didn't ever want to be the mom who made her kids eat certain foods, but the bottom line is this: not eating a couple of carrots is silly and making them eat it is sort of fun! Not that I enjoyed the crying and yelling that ensued, but I was content to sit with him and read a book while just kept asking for a popsicle instead...as if I am going to let him have a treat in exchange for some now soggy carrots. Who does he think I am? But in the end I won and he got his popsicle when the carrots vanished. I don't remember ever getting anything after I ate my oatmeal though.