Monkey See Monkey Do

Kids are notorious for proving their parents wrong. If you say, "Oh, he never eats that," be prepared to eat your words.

Ben proved me wrong twice this weekend. He spent Saturday night with Aunt D and Uncle J and his cousins, CJ (3) and NW (17 months) and Sunday we went over as a family to watch the Superbowl.

Saturday night I told D to have Ben do everything her boys did: dinner, bath, milk, bed. She specifically asked, "Can he take a bath with the boys?" And I specifically answered, "Oh yeah, he loves bathes."

And he does. This kid loves water and wails any time you try to remove him from water of any source: the bath, pool, hose, dog bowl, toilet, anything.

Well, that night Ben didn't love the bath. In fact, he hated it. I was told he stood the entire time angrily and urgently signing 'please' and then lifting his hands as if to say, "Please pick me up NOW!"

Sunday night, NW asked for a banana and D gave him one while she informed me that the only way he'll eat bananas is if he can hold it himself. The next thing I know, NW is happily sitting on D's hip holding and eating a banana. He looked like a baby monkey.

Ben was happily sitting on my hip watching NW eat his banana. As I said, "Ben hates bananas no matter how I serve them," Ben pointed one little finger at the bunch and signed 'please'. I tried to remind him that he hates bananas, but D said, "Let him try it."

So I did. And he loved it. And there we were, with our baby monkeys on our hips eating their bananas.

I found Ben's habit of proving me wrong irritating at first, but now I think I can use it to my advantage. Just like everyone else, Ben is motivated by his peers and this is my new key to encouraging good behavior.

We have not completely transitioned from a bottle to a cup. Ben drinks water and juice from a sippy cup, regular cup and a cup with a straw just fine, but when it comes to his milk, it can only be a bottle. I'm going to arrange bedtime with his older cousins again. We're going to make a big deal about how everyone gets milk in a cup and hopefully he'll drink it.

It seems strange to think that someday I'll be advocting against peer pressure, but right now, I'm using it.