Before I begin, let me state for the record that I neither advocate for nor tacitly endorse the lying to or manipulating of children. I firmly believe this is a violation of their personal dignity, and that parents who do so for their own convenience or amusement need to re-think their parenting philosophy.
However…
We have had a wonderful crop of squash and zucchini from our garden this year, and for reasons I do not understand, our preschooler flatly refuses to eat any of it. In fact, he has become such a vocal opponent of squash and zucchini that he has also converted his younger brother, and the two of them now form a little cult of veggie abstinence.
Today I resorted to shredding up a huge zucchini and mixing it in their marinara sauce at lunch. I’m not proud of it, but a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do to look out for her kids’ nutrition.
They ate every bite.
