Last night, my husband and I had just put our oldest son to bed. The boys were exhausted after picnicking at the local botanical garden with family. We were in the process of getting our youngest son settled when our oldest appeared at the baby gate with an anxious look on his face.
"Mom? Dad?" Son #1 ventured. "Can I have a vitamin gummy? I didn't have one today." Son #1 yawned and his eyes were barely open.
I looked up at Son #1's tired little face and said. "Not tonight. It's late. You can have one in the morning."
"But I need one now!" Son #1 whined as he leaned against the wall in exhaustion.
"You'll be fine." My husband reassured him. "Just wait until morning. Now, go to bed. You are so tired."
Son #1 pouted and persisted. "But, I want one! Why can't I have one now?"
Good question. Maybe we were too tired to go to the kitchen and get one. Maybe we didn't want to interrupt Son #2's bedtime routine and bring bad juju upon ourselves. Maybe we were just lazy. Any of these reasons were plausible. Fortunately, we could be autocratic about this without causing too much angst.
"You can't have a vitamin gummy now because it is late. Go to bed. I'll make sure I get you one in the morning." I promised. "I love you!"
Son #1 would not be swayed He shouted out dramatically. "If I don't have a vitamin gummy, I'll DIE!"
My husband and I rolled with laughter. I know that we've impressed upon him the importance of healthy eating and taking his vitamins. However, we may have gone a bit too far.
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