Triumphs and Failures Tuesday - April 26th Edition

Taking a page from Slate's Mom and Dad Are Fighting podcast,* the thick and thin presents Triumphs and Failures Tuesday, a weekly post where I share a parenting triumph or failure. Please feel free to judge!

Today's T&F is a failure (dun dun dunnn).

This past Friday, my wife, kids, and I were having dinner at my parent's house. As soon as my mom finished setting the table, she called us to dinner. Like Pavlov's dog, I dropped everything and started to eat. Laya was busy tending to our youngest, X was entranced watching his cousin play a video game, and my parents were off doing something else, so it was just me at the dinner table, eating by myself. But, wait, that's not the failure (maybe it should be?).

Laya and I typically eat tag-team style, where one watches the kids while the other eats, and then we switch. It gives the one eating a chance to enjoy the meal without having to worry about what the kids are doing. I figured that I should start eating ahead of the others so that I could tend to the kids afterwards. 

The failure was that I started eating dessert just as my wife had started coaxing X to eat his dinner. Well, when X walked into the kitchen and saw Daddy eating ice cream, he wanted ice cream, too. It's a well-known fact that Saludareses have a sweet tooth. The desire for sweets is in our bones, and it can be overpowering.

So, when Laya told X that he had to eat his dinner first before ice cream, it was like it was the end of the world. The wailing. The refusal to eat anything else. The tears. For ice cream. Game over. I'll be honest--a little part of me was amused. But I certainly couldn't laugh out loud, especially when Laya called me out. "You always do that. You start eating dessert before X starts eating, and then he won't eat his dinner." Yikes...do I? 

I'm going to work on it. Daddy likes his sweets (and it shows, heh heh), but I'll be patient. Besides, I love sharing my desserts with X...as long as I get the last bite.

Do you have a parenting triumph or failure you'd like to share? I'd love to hear it.

*If you're into podcasts, check this one out. Slate editors Allison Benedikt and Dan Kois review and debate the latest parenting news.