Ask Amy: Broccoli works, until Mr. Oreo arrives
Any ideas on how to resolve this?
– Snacked
Dear Snacked: If your husband didn’t ply the kids with cookies, any healthy snack delivered by Grandpa would be considered “a treat.” Kids are like that. They can happily eat broccoli trees dipped in yogurt — until Mr. Oreo comes to town.
I won’t waste your time suggesting healthy alternatives to cookies, because your husband has basically decided that his pleasure and esteem is so cheap that it can be obtained through being a sweets dispenser to toddlers. That’s lazy, but unless they have health issues, a few cookies won’t harm these children.
Your husband also doesn’t respect his own daughter’s wishes. That’s a pretty obvious power move, possibly because he wants to see himself as a loving and indulgent grandpa, versus providing daycare on a schedule.
You should hope that he doesn’t take this disrespect further, toward choices that are less benign. After all, when he was a kid every child ate cookies for a snack, and no one rode in a car seat.
However, he is right in this regard. If your daughter does not like being disrespected in this way, she has options.
You say you are in the middle of this, but that’s a choice, too. If your daughter complains about this, tell her to “take this up with your father.”
Dear Amy: My partner and I are in our mid-70s and live in a small home.
For 10 years we have had a wonderful housecleaner spend three hours every two weeks cleaning our home (dusting, mopping, vacuuming). She does a great job.
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