Glasses

Daniel and I were on a walk with the kids yesterday discussing that a young child's life right from the beginning is filled with many little white lies and a lot of pressure.

Examples of a white lie:
'This chocolate (which I am sneaking in my mouth as you are not looking) is sour'

Examples of pressure: 
'If you don't sit still in your chair while we are all eating, I will go get the buckle and strap you in',

'If you eat your carrots, then you can have a highlight'. 

One of the most memorable from my own childhood was: 'If you eat your Spinach, you will grow up to be as strong as Popeye' (I still don't eat Spinach today - I would look funny with strings of hair in my face and those strange-looking muscles - no thank you!).

The pressure is usually there, just to get the kids to do something that generally I want them to do or learn to do (sitting at the table until everyone is done eating, I realize is a dificult task, but they have to learn it).  The white lies usually come into play when I am tired of discussing something.

Today, when changing Sidney's diaper, after the new diaper was already on - he started arguing - he wanted a diaper with the picture of a Kitty.  Using the white lie tactic, I told him, you do have a Kitty, it's brown (I told him this, knowing that it is a bear, but not wanting to get into a discussion). 
Sidney:  "Let me see" (Sits up a looks down at the diaper)  "No Mama, its a bear!"
Mama: "Oooops, I thought it was a Kitty"
Mama  "Sidney, you know why I thought it was a Kitty?'"
Sidney: "No, why?"
Mama: "Because I don't have my glasses on, and when I don't have my glasses on, I can't see very well'.
Sidney: (stares deep into my eyes for minute) "Mama, your funny".

At this stage, the diaper issue was forgotten.  I'm thinking, good, I got out of this one easy.

Then Spencer who had been playing in the room during this discussion leaves the room shortly and comes back in, carrying my glasses in his hand:  "Here Mama.".