Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for March 18, 2011

And you think a 3-year-old is a match for Evie?!?

I went thru this with my little boy….I told him he could eat that green junk and then watch TV with us or just sit there looking at the green junk. He ate it……………

This happened with my 3-year-old. I told him this is what we are eating and I was putting it in the fridge in 20 minutes. In the fridge it went and when he got really hungry, he asked if he could still eat it (after a lot of tears…a lot of tears). I heated it up and we hever had another problem. Now that he’s six, he just has to take one bite of everything and he got to pick one veggie he never has to eat (broccoli, of course!). He doesn’t eat a lot of vegetables but at least he takes a bite.

Tickle him till he gives in!

@Colt9033: I don’t think that’s such a good idea. A child shouldn’t associate playtime with unpleasant things like eating something he doesn’t want. This is already a confrontation and he needs to have a clear concept that this is discipline.

Grandma your giving Max ideas. For now just give up and let him do without. Time for bath and bed. That plate of food will be cold now. Mine never did that and they both like garden salads and broccoli. My daughter is an adult and still likes broccoli.

Yes, it is a match for a three year old. It’s pathetic when adults cower before a small child, and give them the power. They’re not doing the child any favors.

Some people like greens and some don’t. My older kid loved vegetables from the beginning; it took the other 20 years to do more than barely tolerate. We went with the one bite tack and that was all she got of vegetables on her plate. I’m with Kab Buch on this one…especially with the look on Max’s face in that last panel.

There is a reason that kids like fruit, because just maybe, they really do not need vegetables. The problem here is when we introduce refined sugar to the mix, now that is all they want. Kids have different taste buds, they will come around, unless you make it too unpleasant for them. My parents would force feed us kids - even after more than 50 years, I have a gag reflex to many of the nastier ones. Evidently, that was the wrong way to try to teach it

I love the evil grin in the last frame!!

I don’t like it when parents let kids win.

Evie’s on the right track but Max still has the power here. One dinner, no other options. Dinnertime is over at a certain time, then he goes to bed whether he’s eaten or not.

Thirdguy - that’s exactly what I was going to write! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Max with such a devious look before!

Hey all when children at that age they pick up on words easy and use to their advantage.