Pushing the limits

Part of being a parent is enjoying and accepting the frustration of the moments (or hours or days) when your child learns to push your limits.  Most recently A has been flexing her independence when it comes to eating and dressing.  To be honest, the dressing part is causing me much more stress (more on this).


My husband and I decided many moons ago to never force A to eat.  The dinner is made, it's her choice to eat it and if she does not, that's fine, but there will be no snacks later.  This little agreement has worked well, with two exceptions - poop and trickery.  Trickery first - we have tricked A in to thinking that certain things will happen if you eat your dinner - example, "your nails will grow pretty if you eat your chicken," and now, the kid won't let me cut her nails.  Poop on the other hand is a much bigger issue.  We have suffered as a family for nearly 4 years with poop - too much, too little, too hard, too soft, not often, you name it we have dealt with it.  Magically, these cute little ice cream cones have encouraged and been a sound reward for poop.  So now what happens? The kid won't eat her dinner but she sure as hell will take a crap. [ Editorial comment : It's my blog, so I reserve the right to talk about poop] Now instead of poop ruling our life, it's freaking mini ice cream cones.  We are now employing trickery in to the poop : ice cream scenario - the store just does not make them any more.  (note: stay tuned to workingmotherofone.com's update on severe constipation as a result of said trickery in 5 days...I am sure).


Parenting is all about tricks, white lies and bribery, anyone who denies this has never met (1) my child or (2) experienced the 2's and 3's.  As I mentioned, her new independence has led to issues about getting dressed.  She likes ONE outfit - it's too small, too warm and worn too often.  When said "comfy hearts" outfit is unavailable - all bloody hell breaks loose at the house.  So how do I deal with this - lip gloss and glitter.  That's right, when all else fails, let your kid accessorize like a stripper.  My morning routine is now - I chose her outfit, she cries, I console, we get dressed, we cry and she goes glam.  My whole issue with clothes, (insert obsessive compulsive Mommy here) is dress her in comfortable casual wear most of the time, but to dress appropriate for school (aka dress pants, skirts and dresses).  We are always complimented on how tidy she looks and how well and appropriate she is dressed.  I have a year and half left and then it's uniform-city for this kid...can't a girl catch a break.  So in the end, I win and she looks like a stripper, or a princess...you decide.