John

John was a little stinker during certain portions of our trip to Colorado. Though some of his behavior episodes were relatively normal for a three and a half year-old kid, his refusal to cooperate at times was quite annoying to Scott and I while we were trying to enjoy our family trip. John's worst time of the day was generally mealtime. Though he was cranky from need of food, he often did not want to eat what he ordered and then subsequently had a meltdown in whatever restaurant we were eating lunch or dinner in that day.

Towards the end of our week in Steamboat we had a lovely lunch in a Mexican restaurant. The setting was cool in that we were sitting on the patio, which was actually the roof of the second story of the restaurant overlooking downtown. I thought the children would enjoy being able to look down over the activity on the streets below, and Scott and I were excited about the view of the mountains and the fresh air from being outside. This should have been an easy meal.

Here are the kids coloring before the meal arrived (it was relaxing enough at this point that I was trying to snap photos to enjoy the moment). However, as soon as the plates were set down, John started his act. He refused to touch a thing on his plate, and was acting horribly about it - shouting, putting his feet up, throwing crayons to the floor, etc. - really awful stuff which reminded me of a child much younger than his age. Now you would think that nachos with cheese and Spanish rice - our staple children's meal at Mexican restaurants (yes, I know this is not at all healthy for the kids but we don't feed it to them often)- would be acceptable in some form, and I offered for him to taste the different foods on my plate as well once it became apparent that he didn't like what he was served. But none of that worked. Our rule with the kids is that they have to try a few bites of what they are served and then they can be finished if they don't like the meal. We don't make them clean their plate or eat a large portion, but they at least have to try a few bites.

So here we are trying to talk to John rationally and make his mood lighter, but nothing is working. John won't eat anything and I am getting really frustrated and embarrased. And then Amelia spouts out what might have been the best quote of the week. Just as John was refusing for the XXth time to try anything (shouting "I will not eat this, mommy!"), Amelia looks at him with all seriousness and says, "Well, good luck getting a treat with that attitude, buddy". The look on her face was priceless.

Scott and I couldn't help but start laughing because she was right on point. Of course, reminding John that he in fact would not get a treat because he didn't try his lunch did nothing to improve his mood towards the food. And as soon as Scott was finished five minutes later he had to take John downstairs to a noisier area of the restaurant so that Amelia and I could enjoy our meal in peace. But we replayed Amelia's comment several times that week as it was just perfect! Amelia knows the rules and was trying to help John, though his stubborness dominated at the end of the day. Later that afternoon John watched as Amelia ate her treat from the candy store next door, while Scott and I were lucky enough to deal with another round of crying and protesting as to why he didn't have his own treat.

As is always the case, there were other days where John was on his best behavior and was completely delightful during lunch. The next day we again were enjoying lunch outdoors at a local restaurant, where John was in a much better mood. Maybe he liked the meal choice better, maybe he was better rested that day - who knows. But he behaved well, ate a good portion of his lunch with little prodding, and even smiled for the camera when I was snapping photos afterwards.