Got what you deserved

We have a rule for Cameron that he doesn't have to eat his dinner, but if he gets down from the table to play we throw his food away and he is done for that meal. He usually protests while we are throwing his food away saying "More!" to indicate that he does want to eat more, but by that point we've given him fair warning and he doesn't get the chance to get his food back. After a short time for him to realize he's hungry, April will often offer him what's left on her plate, which he's usually glad to have.

At least once per week I make a breakfast of bacon and eggs for the whole family. If I do it right, the bacon is crispy, the egg yolks are runny, the potatoes are perfect. This morning, the yolks were all cooked, the pan I use was ruined, we didn't have potatoes, so had to settle for grits, which I don't like that much. By the time I was done mixing all my food together to make it palatable and smothering it with ketchup, I was pretty upset about the whole meal, then the toast I got to scoop it up with was burned. I decided I wasn't going to eat anymore and pushed it away in disgust

Cameron realized exactly what I was doing and why I was doing it. Not eating because he doesn't like the food isn't something we want Cameron to do, so to salvage a lesson for him in this, we tricked him. I left the table to use the laptop and April threatened to throw my food away if I didn't come back and eat it. I used the laptop anyway and she threw my food away for me (thanks, honey!) over my protests of "More!". For several minutes afterward, Cameron reminded me that "mom throw away food sit down" because I had left the table.

Cameron might have realized something fishy was going on when April offered me her burned leftover toast and grits and I declined. By the time he is old enough to read this, I guess he can afford to know the lengths we'll go to for a united front.