Vitamin Fail

Jump to Comments

My son, whom I love to the ends of the earth… frustrates me.  We, in my family, are ALL taking some vitamins called Juice Plus.  We are even participating in a study on the benefits of it in children’s health.  Dr. Sears, yes, THE Dr. Sears is a huge fan of Juice Plus, cuz it is just plain good for you.

Now… my son stops right there at the “good for you” part.  That boy doesn’t even hesitate at scarfing down a marsh mellow…or candy…or whip cream.  He doesn’t hardly chew his food when he eats anyway, a trait he unfortunately inherited from me.  But HE. WILL. NOT. SWALLOW. THIS. PILL! We’ve done everything positive to help him with this.  We researched ways to help him.  We started practicing with tic tacs.  We upgraded to Mike and Ikes, and those are bigger than this pill.  No problem getting the candy down.  But not something good for you.

We tried logic.  We tried Biology.  We tried bribery.  We tried humor.  I taped my face. I DID.  My nose up in the air.  My eyelids to my forehead.   My upper lip to my nose and my bottom lip to my chin.  I don’t have a picture to share, I have some dignity. I convinced him that he had to save my face from the tape.  He could remove it after he swallowed the pill.  We were laughing.. hard to do with tape… and it still failed.

So now we are sitting here after an hour.  After tears. Gagging. Excuses.  The humor is gone.  The patience is gone.  This is a battle of wills.  He has won before because we did not want to traumatize him, but now I am sure he is playing us with emotional wargames.   You see… he has swallowed these before.  But now  he refuses. It is not like he can’t do it.  He has already done it.

He is not a veggie loving fruit eating child. He loves his bread. He loves his cheese. He loves his sweets, which we certainly limit. You know kids health these days is … you know… awful! Obesity, diabetes, ADHD…. immune system problems. We just want our kids to be healthy.

So he is sitting here crying….still. Mark and I are sitting here with him….still. I am feeling like a total A-hole watching him cry. And through his sobs he argues his case, so carefully and articulately. He has convinced himself that it is an impossible task. But he has already done it.

Oh the insanity. Oh the internal profanity! A hate these kind of battles! Am I the worst mom in the world for doing this. For holding my ground for the sake of my son’s health at the risk of scarring him emotionally for life?

Well, at least he will eat his vegetables in the insane asylum.

5 Comments

Filed under Motherhood