My date with Braeden

(Braeden and his prized possessions - his trucks)

Friday night I was able to have a date with Braeden.

We went to Wal-Mart to kill some time, and to do a little experiment.

(I am all about using other people's children - okay, just blood relation - to increase my mothering skills and basically to have them act as guinea pigs for said experiments)

I have always wondered why it is that there in inevitably a screaming child at the checkout counter crying about a myriad of things - toys, candy, etc... and then accompanying the child is an embarrassed, frustrated and generally purple with hopefully controlled rage parent. Why is it that the child is being so 'bad'

(I don't think they are bad, they are just kids, and it is natural to 'want' things).

So here is the experiment:

Braden and I walked into Wal-mart. He wanted to walk (he's two and a half - and I am seven months pregnant - no way dude, you are sitting in the cart) and I wanted him to sit in the cart. We compromised, and I let him 'drive the cart' by sitting in the actual basket of the cart as opposed to the baby seat portion. He's a good driver. (point for Aunt Jen and for Braeden) We immediately walk past the food isle's (it's a Super Wal-Mart of course, why would I settle for less) and he sees the ice cream/Popsicles in the frozen isle at the end. He proclaims he would like Ice Cream, and I tell him that we can't eat ice cream in the store, but that we can come back and look at it when we are done shopping. He agrees that Ice Cream would be 'messy' - and we all know he hates to have his face - or any other portion of his body wiped with wipes, so the ice cream issue drops and we move on (point for Aunt Jen and Braeden). Next we decide to go look at the trucks (his favorite thing in the whole world). We walk up and down the isles. He wants to hold some of the trucks, and so I oblige. I tell him he can 'hold' three trucks, and he chooses them. THEN, I tell him that we are not buying the trucks, only holding them. He asks why with a little pout, and I tell him that there are special times for buying trucks, birthdays and Christmas. I told him that he could play with them until we left the store, and then he could choose something from the dollar isle. We walked around and around and around and he played and played and played, and then it was time to go. We walked all the way back to the toys, and I had him put the trucks back where they belonged. He did so without whining, and was very happy to go and pick out his bubbles from the dollar isle (point for Aunt Jen and Braeden). We capped the shopping experience off with Braden picking sugar-free Popsicles as our treat (that's my boy) and a whine free-stress free check out experience.

I am sure there will be times that I will be the purple faced, embarrassed mom in the check out, but it was nice to see that communication and compromise can go a long way.

I love you Braden. Thanks for being my guinea pig.

(Playing with his $1.00 bubbles.)