"Nope."
"Oh. I guess I don't want it."
"You may have it sweetheart, just don't eat it all. Sweets are okay sometimes."
Teaching your children how to enjoy treats is not easy.
Some parents are much better at this than I. If there is candy within a 100ft radius, I will sniff it out, and eat every bite. I do not have a grid for when to stop. I always want to believe that I will stop tomorrow, but that is a lie. I love treats and sweets too much, I think that I will always desperately crave them. And yes, I am eyeing your dessert, please don't ask if I'd like a bite, I will eat it all.
I am a health nut who longs to put only the best things in her body and craves snickers like a crack addict. Many out there talk about when the desire for sweets subsides, and it does, but for some of us it is really just lurking out of sight. You never know when, after my day of eggs, avocados, nuts, and countless tons of veggies you'll come home to find me face down in an empty ice cream container. It's a sneaky bugger.
And I am the person who is supposed to teach her kids about self control. Me. It's like a bad joke. Or tell them not to eat sweets. When in actuality I want to say, "Yes, cotton candy is hell on your body, but who cares, lets see who can finish their bag first." I don't do that, I think it, I want to say it, but I just stand there, sharing as much truth as a normal, sane, adult would and let them make their own decisions.
Sometimes they choose to go for the treat and other days they reach for a banana instead. It's not because I am a great role model. I'm not, but I do try really, really hard to teach them to make healthy, unemotional choices. I do my best to do the same.
No, I will not ever be a parent with a candy drawer. I won't have a candy dish, and if there is ice cream in the freezer, it's only because I haven't found it yet.
I wish that I was wildly controlled. That I didn't stare too long at the candy next to the check out counter. That when my son says, "hey mom, we should get ice cream" I wouldn't hesitate before saying no.
I don't always say no. I just try very hard to say no a few times a week. I love junk food. It seems painfully unfair that it should wreak such wretched havoc on my body. I know it is doing the same to my children and that makes me want to push harder, to be stronger.
I never want my daughter to think we don't eat certain foods because they will make us fat. That has never been and will never be the reason. We are not afraid or concerned with fat. We are very aware of loving and treating our bodies with value and respect. We believe that food is medicine and if you want to be healthy, look young, and feel good you need to be careful what you consume.
While I'd rather be racing you through a banana split, I'm going to sit here, eat my carrots, and try and find as many ways as possible to make vegetables more appealing. Maybe sneak a hunk of dark chocolate now and then.
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