Adventures in Parenting: Chug, BABY, Chug!
- November 13th, 2008 4:39 pm
I am one of those people that always finishes their drink. I can’t just leave a perfectly good bottle of water half full. I have to drink the rest of it.
That said, my three year will gladly leave a full glass of milk, water, juice, or you name it just sitting. Recently, it started bugging me. Aside from the fact that she needs to drink these things, half full drinks make me want to scratch my eyes. I can just imagine them tipping themselves over onto the floor, and the hours that I will spend cleaning them up.
So I decided she needed an incentive. An incentive reminiscent of her potty training days. The sort where I chant, yell, and root for her as accomplishes her goal.
When Allie wouldn’t finish her drink, I started standing beside her to cheer her on. I assumed it would work. It worked for everything else.
Yesterday, as she was finishing some V8, I stood beside her chanting like the idiot I am.
“COME ON, ALLIE! YOU CAN DO IT! FINISH THE JUICE! COME ON!”
Adam walked in, looked at me a bit strangely.
“CHUG ALLIE! CHUG! CHUG!”
He continued looking at me like I was a life form from an unknown planet.
“CHUG, BABY, CHUG,” I continued to yell, ignoring him as I had almost coaxed Allie into finishing the juice.
Finally, Adam gave me the stink eye.
“What?” I asked.
“Well, you just sound like you’re at keg party cheering someone on.”
I thought about it for a minute.
I did! I sounded just like I was at a keg party. Urging your kid to drink their juice like you might urge a frat boy to finish a beer?
Guilty. as. charged.
The more I thought about it, I sounded like I was cheering for someone as they did their tenth keg stand for the night. The one where you know they will fall over, but you still urge them, because it is funny when people fall. Except I had a purpose for this urging.
GO ALLIE! GO! YOU CAN DOOO IT!
She finally finished the juice. While urging her to chug is a tad bit unorthodox, like most things that I do, at least she is now finishing her drinks.
I’m penciling this in as a victory for myself. Now, if I could just find a way to convince her to do the dishes..
November 13th, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
If you can convince her to do dishes, I am nominating you for the CNN Hero of the Year. Srsly.
Undomestic Divas last blog post..The Crapper
November 13th, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
That would be something to see. But actually it’s not that uncommon. When my niece was Allie’s age her favorite toy was not a Barbie doll or a teddy bear. Nope, it was her mom’s hand held vacuum. And boy did she LOVE to vacuum things. Sometimes it would cause her to get scratched by the cat.
November 13th, 2008 @ 7:32 pm
I’m with you. My kids are always leaving full, and half-full cups around and it drives me crazy. I also feel the need to finish finish finish! Maybe we’ll start having chugging contests between the kids. Thanks for the idea.
Shannons last blog post..Love Me Tender
November 13th, 2008 @ 7:34 pm
That is too funny! I might try the same with my littlest one although it will defo seem like I’m training him for future frat parties!
Karen @ If I Could Escapes last blog post..Madagascar 2 . . .
November 13th, 2008 @ 7:58 pm
as long as you don’t turn her upside down on the juice cup I think you will be fine. *giggle*
Heathers last blog post..Not exactly how I planned it
November 13th, 2008 @ 8:00 pm
As long as she doesn’t start crumpling sippy cups on her forehead…
Rheas last blog post..Interviewing the Little People
November 13th, 2008 @ 8:02 pm
what happens when the day comes and she looks at you and says ‘Chug mommy, chug!’
Oh I would die - my luck it would be in public too! teehee
~K
Kels last blog post..Beauty is skin deep?
November 13th, 2008 @ 8:15 pm
LOL!!! That’s too much! I’m just envisioning you cheering on your kid to finish the keg. I’m the same way, though. I hate leaving a half empty glass of anything. I think it will tip over too and I’ll just end up having to clean it up. I might as well just finish it to avoid the situation all together. Which may be why I am the Diet Coke Queen!!!
dcokequeens last blog post..Thought for the day
November 13th, 2008 @ 9:08 pm
Were you holding her upside down having her drink it from a tap? Cause that would have been photo-worthy.
Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing]s last blog post..I’ll Never Be a Model
November 13th, 2008 @ 9:19 pm
I always leave my can or bottle drinks with two sips left, and it drives my husband crazy!! He can’t understand why I can’t drink it all!!
I always think backwash in the last two sips.
Great post!
Melissas last blog post..It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
November 13th, 2008 @ 9:55 pm
lol, that made me laught.
November 13th, 2008 @ 10:16 pm
Hey! It works. When ya find sumthin that wurks ya just gotta go wid it.
lceels last blog post..Thursday Random stuff
November 13th, 2008 @ 10:42 pm
She just might be the life of the party at a keg party. At least she’ll be prepared.
November 14th, 2008 @ 12:33 am
HAHA! I do the same thing with my boys.
Kats last blog post..Perspective
November 14th, 2008 @ 7:03 am
That’s too funny. I do all kinds of stuff to get my little one to finish her food, but the drinking is a different story. That’s all she wants to do.
November 14th, 2008 @ 8:38 am
Tell her that chugging totally goes with the candy cigarettes
witchypoos last blog post..Mining the Search Strings
November 14th, 2008 @ 10:16 am
Let me know when you start giving lessons in beer pong.. I am sending my son straight over..
Too cute..
Kims last blog post..The post I said I would not do, but did anyway
November 14th, 2008 @ 11:04 am
How funny!
Stephanies last blog post..Pray for me, please!
November 14th, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
That is too funny.
zandors last blog post..I don’t think it’s working.
November 14th, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
You know, with the price of milk these days, my wallet gets seriously pissed off when I see a glass of milk not drank and left out on the table.
Heather, Queen of Shake Shakes last blog post..Things I hate about the blogosphere
November 14th, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
hummmm
interesting….
not how can I convince To have showers?????
hehehe
UrbanVoxs last blog post..Pimp My Blog updates!
November 14th, 2008 @ 5:14 pm
Adam and I are on the same page. As soon as I read the title I thought “this can’t end well” hopefully she will continue finishing her beverages without you needing to chant chug and repress the memory so it doesn’t rear itself during high school /college peer pressure moments.
Jeremy
Jeremys last blog post..Bumper Stickers, and Why I Loathe Them
November 14th, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
Pretty funny story. I like the picture too. Is it from a Dick and Jane book?!
Kels last blog post..A wordless Wednesday- Fall 2008
November 14th, 2008 @ 9:33 pm
Jeremy,
I am hoping the same! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
-Amanda
November 14th, 2008 @ 10:32 pm
My pleasure!
November 15th, 2008 @ 3:33 am
Hey whatever works! My niece visited me when she was 3 and insisted on “helping” me do the dishes. It was definitely a challenge to rewash them without her noticing and took quite awhile longer than normal to finish them, least it was funny and she was soooo happy to be a “good helper”! Now I have a little counter-top dishwasher and so this year at age 5 she washed the dishes all by herself by pushing the on button and was quite pleased with herself and bragged about it quite a bit, hahaha!
Karen
The Microblogologists last blog post..Cough Syrup Bender
November 15th, 2008 @ 4:55 am
Reason number 48 why I lurve you so.
And another bonus, teach her this early and she will be the one chanting to the other kids and not the one drinking!
Kelleys last blog post..Dammit. I knew there was something missing from Boo’s party. And keeping with the tradition of freakishly long blog post titles, something about Christmas too.
November 15th, 2008 @ 10:10 am
You could make it even more fun by using a beer bong…
Angellas last blog post..On Adultery
November 16th, 2008 @ 10:27 am
My best friend said to me once, “You know what I like about you, Rhiannon? You always drink your drink.”
I *HATE* it when someone has a bottle of water, or soda, OR BEER at my house and doesn’t finish it. I’m going to start fining people, I think.
Rhis last blog post..Not a stitch to wear, NO REALLY
November 16th, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
You’re lucky your 3-year-old responds to enthusiastic cheering. Mine only does what I explicitly tell her not to do: hence the invention of reverse psychology. “Don’t eat those peas! Don’t do it, Frannie! Don’t do it! I want them! Don’t eat those peas!” Before you know it, every last pea has been shoved into her face. At once.
Sus @ Wiggle Roomss last blog post..Matters of Life and Death
November 17th, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
If it had been a juice box which she then smashed against her forehead… then you would have problems.
Misss last blog post..Summer Madness
November 21st, 2008 @ 11:19 am
It’s amazing our kids grow up half-way normal isn’t it? I do all sorts of stuff that result in my husband looking at me like I have 3 heads. But it works!!!
Danielle-lees last blog post..Karma is a bitch, but a stupid one