The Art of Bribery

Yesterday was my sons 18 month appointment. So naturally I dreaded the 11 o’clock appointment like it was the plague and finally settled on a way to deal with it. Hershey’s Kisses.

When my son was younger we would endure the screaming from the time he entered the exam room until the time we arrived home. It was not fun in the slightest but we lived through it. One great thing about nursing waz that I could nurse him right after he was given the shots. Easy as pie the baby would stop screaming – at least for a few minutes until I told him he couldn’t nurse all the way home. We only nurse right before naptime and bedtime now – so that was no longer an option.

We arrived at the doctors office and he was in full terror mode. Climbing over all the chairs, knocking stacks of magazines off the table, and trying to wake-up a newborn baby girl who was asleep in her carrier. Finally the nurses called us back to the room for him to be weighed and measured. Measuring in at 33 lbs and 33 1/4 inches is my idea of a whopping huge 18 month old, and boy is he proud of it strutting his stuff back to the exam room.

Once the doctor opened the door the screaming began. His face must be imprinted on my sons brain as evil, because he screams the minute he sees him. After speaking with the doctor for ten minutes or so I pulled out a chocolate kiss and my son quieted down as he waited for me to unwrap it. “Oh!! Not so bad now is it?” the doctor asked. We both laughed awhile about the art of bribing children. B’s doctor is all for it – if it works why not? We were laughing about how before babies are born parents think ” I would NEVER bribe my child, he will be very well-behaved with out any sort of incentive what so ever” 🙂 I will admit that yes, I was one that thought this way. But chocolate just works so well….

I don’t bribe my son all the time, no its not like that. But on occasion I don’t think it matters too much. Especially when I know that he has to get a shot and that isn’t fun – might as well stash a few reserve chocolate kisses in the purse for myself as well!