the power of orange ice

Bribery with a 2 year old is sometimes necessary. I try not to use them often so that I don't wear out the affect ... and don't create a monster.

Some of you know Little Miss D has an obsession with ice. To protect her teeth we started giving her Dryer's Fruit Bars as a special treat. If she has been good and we reward her with one she tells us which one she wants by color -- purple ice, red ice, orange ice, green ice ... you get the idea.

We started Little Miss D in swim lessons about 3 weeks ago. The first lesson went, but in the second lesson the teacher had her go under water. For the next 4 lessons she cried the entire 30 minutes. But, what we noticed was the even though she was crying she was willingly swimming under water. So, for her 7th lesson today I figured I would try a little bribery.

After her first dunk Little Miss D came up out of the water, looked at me and the tears started. I quickly said if you would like an orange ice after swim lessons you have to stop crying. And, sure enough the tears quickly stopped. She was still wining and whimpering. After her 3rd dunk and my 3rd bribe with orange ice she was smiling and giggling. Tears were a thing of the past. Her instructor took her out for another swim and Little Miss D waved and said "Bye-bye, Mommy". Her instructor had her sit on the side of the pool and jump in -- instead of coming up crying she shouted "Mommy, I jump!"

On the car ride home she told me that she was a mermaid. I am so sad that her swim school will be on hiatus until mid-January. But, maybe by then I will no longer have to bribe her!