Paper Parents Pop Quiz #2

By the way these things aren’t being graded. These are real scenarios that might be poignant for the non-parent especially because if you plan on procreating you’ll be dealing with this stuff sooner or later and you might as well be thinking about it now.

OK, PPPQ #2. Daughter #1 has a great bond with both her parents, but mom will probably always be #1. So lately when she gets a full diaper or wants food she gives daddy the straight-arm (football term, see picture) and asks for mommy. Sometimes you think she demands mommy. You are a big believer in the 50/50 rule so you should be able to do all this stuff; change her diaper, prep some food, pour some juice, etc. But daughter #1 wants mommy. This is a trend you aren’t taking a liking to. You think about it for awhile and you…

A) Talk to your daughter nicely but in the end, you make the decision to change her diaper, prep her food/drink, etc. You’re the dad and she shouldn’t have the option to play favorites. Plus the wife has enough to worry about with a three month old lying around god knows where…

B) Shut your mouth most of the time and deal…telling yourself that she is a three year old so you pretty much grin and bear it.

C) Pick your battles. Sometimes A, sometimes B. Depending on your mood and how forceful your daughter is. The more forceful the less likely you are to bend....

D) Throw your own tantrum and demand that your daughter preps your food and drink from now on and insist that she changes your diaper just to see what it’s like…

And the Answer is….well for me it is really a combo of A and B so the answer is C with the winner being B more times than not…Parenting is often about making choices and picking your battles. This one I have often chosen not to fight -- sometimes against my better judgment. All things being equal I do not like when our daughter pulls that routine – BUT, she is just a three year old and she wants mommy more than me so I let it slide. It’s a real judgment call. It’s something I think she’ll grow out of so I make the decision not to force her to grow out of it before she’s ready.

Believe me if I’m still fixing her food and changing her diapers at 28 I’ll tackle this one head on…