Still, we want our children to freely express themselves, but to do so always with gratitude and tact, and so Daniel is teaching the girls to artfully, graciously, and indirectly express their dislikes. I appreciate his efforts. Ella tries her hardest to be honest, yet gentle. Virginia, still naive about the nuances of language, struggles a bit more. Here is a recap of tonight's dinner:
Ella: Oh, this food looks delicious. Thank you.
Virginia: I don't like my food.
Ella: It's funny, I love this meal and I don't love it.
Virginia: I won't eat this food.
Ella: I mean I appreciate how hard you work to cook these meals for us. This meal looks so good, but please never make it again. Thank you for the delicious food.
Virginia: I like it. It tastes good. I won't eat this food. I don't like it.
Ella: It does taste so good. How about if we make a deal? You never make this again, okay? Thank you so much for cooking. I am honest and I am polite.
In the end, they both ate their food.
5 comments:
Wow! I don't know what to say other than good job Daniel, keep up the good work!
Please don't make that dish when we come over for dinner...oh wait, you'd have to invite us over for dinner. Booyah.
Tony says: "What on EARTH did you make?"
That exchange was better than "This is just to say" by William Carlos Wiliams!
I am going straight to parenting hell for all the starving-children-in-haiti guilt-trips I've laid on my poor, sweet innocent babes. And really, it's just me lashing out in defense of my edible-at-best cooking. I really should do things your way, for the sake of peace and harmony on earth... :)
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