"Well, no, if you want dessert, you'd have to eat all of this," I explained, pointing to the orange and green stuff she was currently refusing.
"I don't want dessert."
"That's what I thought."
Of course, when she learned dessert was fondue with marshmallows, strawberries, and bananas all dipped in chocolate, her tune was different. But by now it was too late. And it was very difficult to turn down her continual requests for just one marshmallow or just one strawberry or a little bit of chocolate. And while I was very tempted to relent because, after all, we had guests and I hated to deprive her of special treat, I realized I did not want to train her to whine. So I stood firm.
And it was only a minute later she finally said, "Can't you just say, 'Oookay' and I can have a marshmallow?" It was her way of saying, "I know this game, Mommy, and now it's your turn." I guess I didn't realize how much I had already trained her to whine.
Point taken.
On an unrelated note (as has been happening frequently), my photo of today is actually of Little Man, whose love of shoes is quite prevalent. He will often go in Sissy's side of the closet and start pulling out her footwear to try on. Today, he found my shoes
I really appreciate your honest and thoughtful ponderings about parenting. Thank you for sharing!
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