Hey parents, do any of you have kids that just eat their dinner without a fuss? You do? Liers!

Meal times have been a struggle lately, mostly with Charlie. He seems to think dessert is one of the meals of the day and not a nice treat after eating the meal you are supposed to eat first.

You know what I am talking about.

• My tummy is full
• I don’t like that
• I am not hungry anymore
• What’s that green thing on there
• I don’t want dinner tonight

All classics in our house. I also want to mention we never cook anything we don’t think the boys will like. It certainly limits what we get to enjoy, but we do it anyways.

Every time one of those excuses is used, they have this face like they just talked their way out of jury duty.

Then we bust them.

Well no dessert then.

OH, shit, then the tables turn.

• Well my tummy has room for dessert
• But I like what dessert is more
• I am still hungry, I want my dinner
• Can you pick the green thing off
• I do want dinner, what is it again?

Then they look back at the same food that has been staring them in the face for 20 minutes and the struggle begins.

What is the absolute minimum they need to eat to earn dessert? One bite, two, everything?

We rarely call for everything and in fact we are probably too soft when we say one bite.

But there have been two nights this week where for Charlie, that one bite was carrot. One tiny piece of carrot. WHICH HE LIKES.

Oh the range of emotions over a tiny bit of carrot just to get to eat yummy dessert.

Then the process goes like this.

• Stares at it hoping magic happens and it vanishes
• The fake eat move where it falls off the fork
• Double checking on the terms of the agreement
• Looking to others for options. Everyone leaves
• Still staring at it
• We start to clean up and do dishes
• One final push to get out of it which includes a bluff saying he does not dessert
• Gets down and looks like he thinks he won
• Sees Harry eating dessert
• Goes back to table just as his plate is being cleared, wanting the carrot
• Finally eats carrot and actually says, mmm good

All that just for a cookie.

via GIPHY

Sound familiar to anyone?

Yep that’s our dinner table these days.