November 19, 2012

  Please let this serve as an apology for all those times that I've judged other parents for letting their kids run the show.  There was once a time that I may have seen an almost two-year-old refuse to wear a bib or sit in a highchair and thought to myself, "This child is not in charge.  Be the parent and put your foot down."  Never again.  Now I'm the parent of just such a child.  She started to refuse her highchair a few weeks ago.  So I got her a booster seat.  Won't sit in that either.  She insists on standing (or kneeling) on a regular kitchen chair to eat her meals.  What you can't see is her bib on the floor under her chair.  Most days she won't wear that either.  
  We've tried putting our foot down.  She doesn't care.  We've assumed that she'll eventually get hungry enough to follow our rules, but she doesn't.  Eating isn't a priority to her.  And when you've got a peanut-sized child who really needs to gain weight, you've got to let this one slide.  
  So I'm stuck cleaning off the table, her chair, the floor, and her clothes after every meal.  Oh brother.