Thursday night at dinner I said to my 4 year old, "If you eat all your broccoli, I'll buy you a DS."  I know many of you are gasping in horror at the crazy statement because on many levels, bribing your child is just wrong.  And, I agree.  Probably not the smartest thing I've ever said as a parent.  But, you don't know Ryan.  And, you probably didn't know that my 2 kids are the only kids in the entire world that don't own a Nintendo DS already.  As my 6 year old has told me repeatedely that he is the ONLY kid on the bus that doesn't have a DS and that ALL the Kindergartners even have one (he's a 1st grader).  So, you can imagine how that makes a parent feel.  Truthfully, we've talked about my 6 year old MAYBE getting one for his birthday in May and then my 4 year old MAYBE getting on for Christmas next year.  We (my husband and I) really don't think our kids need them. But, there I went opening my big mouth at dinner to get Ryan to eat his broccoli.

In all fairness,  I need to explain a little about Ryan.  He is no ordinary kid.  He actually has not eaten a vegetable since it was spoon fed to him out of a jar.  And, I know, some of you are saying that you have picky eaters, too...blah blah blah.  The thing is Ryan isn't just a picky eater.  He has a touch of sensory processing disorder and has had a difficult life since the moment he was born.  A doctor told me that the majority of babies sleep through the night at 12 lbs.  Ryan missed that memo because he didn't sleep through night until he as 2 1/2 years old.  He was diagnosed with acid reflux at 1 month old, was colicky, and basically spent the first 6 months of his life crying.  I was also his pacifier.  Literally.  I would have to nurse him for hours on end.  He wasn't still hungry after 2 hours of nursing, I was his pacifier.  (And, I'm not exaggerating...I spent hours nursing him daily like this and it probably explains his attachment issues.)  

When he was 2, I tried to put him in preschool.  He got kicked out.  He would stand in the corner SCREAMING for me until I came back for him.  The teacher kindly asked me to NOT bring him back.  

At almost 2 1/2 Ryan was hospitalized for a weekend because of constipation.  Yep, good 'ole constipation that lasted one month long, with countless x-rays, doctor visits and unspeakable other treatments my husband and I tried on him, I finally told the doctor I was not taking him home until he was better.  So, to the hospital we went.  

After that, we realized that Ryan's diet, or lack there of, was part of the problem.  So we went to gastro-intestinal doctor, and started seeing a "feeding therapist", and we also started having visits with a physical therapist to help with the sensory processing disorder.  Keep in mind, Ryan was just 2 1/2 years old.  

I'll jump ahead to now because with all the treatment and help we've gotten from specialists, Ryan has made incredible progress and, dare I say, is almost "normal"  Except, everyday is a constant struggle to help learn to eat new foods.  which is why I brought out the big guns and put the offer of a DS on the table to eat the broccoli.  Believe it or not, that first night, it didn't work.  This is a kid who wanted a DS more than anything in the world and he still couldn't bring himself to eat broccoli.  So we tried it again Friday night.  And...he ate the broccoli.  You have no idea the amount of cheering and excitement that went on around our dinner table because Ryan ate several bites of broccoli.  It's a HUGE deal for him.  

I'm sure our feeding therapist would cringe to know how I got Ryan to eat broccoli.   But, you know what, I don't care.  He's eating broccoli.  The deal is that each night at dinner he has to eat all the vegetables on his plate or he loses the DS the next day.  Since that Friday night, Ryan has eaten all the vegetables on his plate.  So, yah, I'm happy.  Was it a costly parenting decision?  Absolutely.  But the fact that Ryan is eating vegetables is priceless.

I think I wanted to share this story to point how imperfect parenting is.  I would NEVER have done something like this with my 6 year old.  I wouldn't need to.  But, each child is different and we do the best we can.  And, at the end of the day my kids are happy and healthy, and eating vegetables!