Dinner Discipline Disaster

Well, I guess it had to be.

My dear little Fuzzy Wuzzy is very head strong and obstinate. Normally I'd appreciate this 'take no crap' attitude in a person. As a child it means that he has seen through my facade and realised that going straight to bed isn't actually my desired dinnertime result. By both not eating AND going to bed without dinner he has thwarted my real desire. That desire of course is to get him to eat all his meal every night without a fuss.

I gambled a short term loss for a long term gain and lost. I think I've failed to factor in who my boy is and how certain strategies will work on a mental level. He wins through successfully defying my authority. That's all. A petty victory is still a victory. He isn't stupid and that's no lie.

So now I must turn my attention to a new strategy. If I have learned from this I need to show I understand what motivates my boy. Discipline certainly isn't it.

I think I may have to, once again, gamble a short term loss for the hope of a long term gain. If he doesn't eat, then eating is not what will happen. I will simply remove the remains of his food without a fuss at 6:30 that that will be the end of it. No confrontation, no demands and no direct discipline. And certainly no dessert. Is that a capitulation? I don't think so.

I am simply removing my authority from the equation. If I remove that which motivates him to defiance, all that's left is the motivation to satisfy himself. If I quietly deny food then he will have to think about the problem in the context of only himself. Maybe he'll smarten up his act on his own.

I certainly hope so.