My Mom is always asking to have sleepovers with my kids. I usually hesitate for a few reasons: 1) I am a control-freak :)!; 2) My Mom feeds my kids ice cream at any opportunity and then claims, "They wanted it"; and 3) I really miss my kids when they are gone for a whole night.
The other day I relented and allowed my 4 year-old daughter to stay over my parents' house. A few hours after I dropped her off with my Mom, I received a phone call. My Mom says, "The lady at the store where we are shopping is offering Maya a Tootsie Roll Lollipop. She said she had to call you to see if it was OK."
(YES! I am thinking to myself...a minor miracle!).
I replied, "Mom, why couldn't you just distract her, say no politely to the lady, and move on?" She relayed the information to Maya, that I did not want her to have the lollipop. Here is the real kicker...she exclaimed, "OK! I didn't want it anyway."
The moral of this story is this...kids do not have to have everything they want. Maybe they don't even want to have everything they say they want. Learning boundaries applies to food just as it does to buying toys. In fact, one of the most important lessons kids need to learn is how to eat healthfully in order to set up their habits for life.
Yea! Score again for Mommy!!!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I totally agree with you!! It's all about boundaries.:) That's great your Mom called.
I really have had to train my family as to what we prefer our 2.5 yr old to eat.
Wow, you really hit home with me on this one. I was that grandmother for many years. My daughter, Liz, had raised her children on healthy vegan cooking. When they would come to my house, I would give them cookies, ice cream and candy, thinking just a couple won't hurt them. I didn't realize the importance of respecting my daughters dedication to feeding them healthy food. I get it, now. Last week when I babysat I didn't fully understand Liz's excitement when I sent her a picture of her son's dinner plate that consisted of falafel, cucumber and tomatoe slices, hummus and pita bread. She was so excited that I had served this dinner. But, after reading how you struggle with what your mom gives your children it reinforces in me the commitment of cooking only plant based foods. And that goes for desserts, too. The kids loved the cupcakes I made with beets and tofu. It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks...but not impossible!!
Post a Comment