Nummy Treats

While I am not against kids drinking juice and eating treats, I admit that I don't really have them in my house. I don't ever buy juice for two reasons: 1. it makes my kids hate water, and 2. Matt will drink it all before the rest of us even get a chance. I don't keep baked goods or chocolate of any kind in the house for only one reason: mom will gobble it down in mass quantities until it is gone and before anyone else even gets to see it.

So while I feel badly sometimes that I don't have a chocolate chip cookie or M&M on hand for my boys at opportune moments, it really is better for us all and it is one area that I feel I do well with. My kids drink a lot of water and think a cookie is one of the most special treats there is.

So imagine a world where a toddler rarely has a sip of juice and only gets chocolate for special occasions (poor kid!) Now imagine this same kid has a week of his life where everywhere he goes, people are giving him juice and cookies and donuts and treats of all kinds!

For the first week of school, I went to more "getting to know you" activities and functions than ever before. That's great. Helpful even. What isn't great is the spread each and every one provided my innocent toddler: tables and tables of treats, just there for the taking! Jack. was. in heaven! He even developed a new word to describe his delight: nummy treats!

No longer is water what he wants when thirsty; he will first whine for a good, solid ten minutes for juice before collapsing in dehydration and finally reverting to the dreaded water. Grapes and yogurt are no longer dessert in his mind. He learned that treats such as donuts and muffins exist!

Jack is still a great eater. He still loves yogurt and grapes. I still don't keep juice or chocolate in the house, (or Nutella anymore either! I will eat it by the spoonful! Delicious...) but Jack has learned what a "nummy treat" is now and there is no going back. It ends up working well for me, though. I now have a great excuse to stop at Starbucks on the way home from the gym after dropping my big boys off at school. Jack and I sometimes just need our fix of "nummy treats!"