i love life cereal! and cinnamon life. hell, gimme any kind of cereal, it's all good!
well...it was. i don't eat it anymore.

Mark,
Latkes are there..in the DT cookbook. Sugar? Try maple syrup on them.
Here's one you two could do together...Father-son bonding in the kitchen.

This one is for those that like to bake with kids, and for those that are a bit crackers for crackers, like myself (crackers).

Homemade Animal Crackers

1/2 cup oatmeal

2 tsp honey

1/4 to 1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup butter, softened

4 Tbsp buttermilk

Do not grease cookie sheet. Grind oatmeal in a blender until fine. Add honey, salt, flour and soda. Cut in butter. Add buttermilk.

Roll dough very thin; cut out with animal cookie cutters. Bake at 400 degrees (F) until brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

This doofus is just acting like a 12 year old today to get attention. Let it be.



On the subject of what Mark asked, NO you did in no way go to far.

I answered the question with my opinion, because it is contradictory to the majority of the "oh yes, beat your child crowd" you want to criticize me. I'm a parent and that behavior toward a child is unacceptable. You want to boast about it on the internet headlined by the question, "did I go to far" then don't expect everyone to affirm your byzantine tactics. This poor kid is gonna need thousands of dollars in therapy now. I hope you all are happy.

True 'dat, but the simple carbs produce a quick insulin spike and then a quick drop. At least the complex ones, like whole grains, as you mentioned, take longer for the body to process.

I also find I'm very moody when I'm having insulin spikes and drops. BBM, if your son is moody at all, replacing some simple carbs with whole grains might help. Moodiness, that is, beyond the usual, I'm eight years old moodiness. :)

I agree that a no-fat diet is bad. Plus, there are some vitamins that are fat-soluble, so you need fat for the body to absorb them. One of the downsides (along with the runs) to the Olestra stuff is that it makes it hard for the body to absorb fat soluble vitamins, like Vitamin A.

Oh, raising the picky eater-- I don't know how my dad managed not to kill me. I did discover the joys of fruit in high school, and becoming a strict vegetarian in my '20s saved my eating habits, as I learned to love vegetables.

Timm,
Correct there. Ignore works.

i tend more towards berries--more fiber in them than a lot of fruits. love veggies, a true veggie eater here. not many i don't care for-brussel sprouts spring to mind, and i don't care for beets or most beans(limas, pintos, etc). but i like my meats as well, usual dinner for me is a meat, couple of veggies and a salad. salad for lunch suits me fine as well. fats aren't the evil--you need at least 20grams of fat a day-it also is what makes you feel full, so if you avoid fats you're going to feel starved all the time--feel hungry, there goes your good intentions in your diet.

Look at this i go and have dinner with the kids and my Gender has changed.Listen to respond to our poster at no point did i ever physically or mentally abuse our son.as far as having a bad day this incident that broke the camels back occured while we were at the park on Saturday.In my parents house my brother and i ate what was on the table.What was taken away from our son was luxuries not neccesities.Today he asked me if we could go and get him a library card which we did.I dont deny my children anything within reason.i'd much rather take my approach than the ways of some of the parents of my brothers pupils.The 1 example i'll give you is my brother was called into the principals office because a child accused him of hitting them.There he was face to face with the kids parents when the kid confessed that my brother did nothing.The principal excused everyone and the parents didn't as much tell there child to apologize to my brother and they didn't either.The sad thing is the principal told him i'm sorry you had to go through this.Those parents were 1000% wrong by not making there child responsible for there action right then and there.Anyone out there want to deny that?

Jfeld,
Thanks for coming back and explaining.
I already put out my thoughts on win=win situations, book title too.
Doing positive things with children gains trust, and really makes for much more fun. Establishes LOVE.
I've also said my piece about using violence on children. It only perpetuates an insanity. There are better ways.
btw...you're not on my ignore, for what that's worth. I agree with you that it's up to those that know how to break the "Byzantine tactics" share their methods. If they don't, it will only be passed on to the grandchildren, and theirs.
DTS

Spare the rod....spoil the child! One of many reason for our lawless society is the parents inability or incapacity to interact and raise their kids. Loving your kids doesn't have to be punitive.

Timm,
Two of your key words stand out.
"Interact", and "loving". Works every time!

One other thing i put this out as the question "did i go to far?" I put myself out there as fair game for everyone.All that the post that this individual did is to me is make me think.You know there's nothing wrong with that.

This is really out of all of our territories. There are so many possibilities. I will tell you my experiences with kids depends on what level of understanding they are on.

I never ever try to use the phrase, "just think how they feel now that you have done that" when my nephews or neices would physically hit one another or even bite. At the time these incidents occurred, they did not have the capability to emphathize, so to think how someone else would feel made absolutely no sense to them.
I basically said it is wrong to hit or bite your sister/brother, go to your room and sit quietly for 1 hour. If they did not go, I would escort them and close the door. No yelling from me, even if they were screaming. I would close the door. Occasionally they would bang on the door and scream and I would just hold the door closed saying absolutely nothing until they wore down. Sometimes they would just go to sleep or sit quietly. When I came back in, I reminded them there will be no biting or hitting or else they would have another hour alone. If they then stated NO, or started screaming again, I would just close the door and they had another hour. It would work especially well if they heard the others having fun. I never ever got mad or raised my voice. I just made it seem like it was common operating procedure. After a few times of Uncle Patrick, we all got along quite well because it was very clear I would not get mad, or give in. The rules were clear and enforced immediately, so they knew exactly what behavior caused their predicament, and they did not even test me after a few times over and we had very good times after that. Which was, I hate to say, very different from what they would get away with if my sister or sister-in-law had them. Chaos and frayed nerves. My wife would decline the chore with cousins because she never even disciplined our daughter.

My daughter was/is always so mild mannered... it worried me for a while. And she never even threw a tantrum. She just did as I said. Looking at her the wrong way would get the point across. Kids are so different, and at such vastly varied points in understanding, you really have to be observant as to what they do and do not understand. And I have found if punishment is just matter of fact, with no yelling by adults, its almost like the rules just stand on their own.
So I would say punishment should be
1.immediate
2. non-negotiable
3. and enforced without any verbal argument from the adult, the explaining is already done and is clear.
A few kids in the neighborhood I refused to look after. None of the above worked. Especially as the kids got older... it became easier to tell who would and would not follow the simple rules.

As for my experience as a child, my dad brought out the skinny black leather belt and had a wonderfully discerning ear for fake crying. And he beat the crud out of me when I took advantage of my mom when I was young. At about 10 years of age, I was pacified, and really started to understand that I was upsetting my mom.

Mark, my friend...Listen, parents KNOW best, and you know what your OWN child needs and doesn't need. I am only 27, but I am the oldest of 4 siblings, so I have seen my parents actually raise three daughters. Each one of them was raised differently, but on the same values. Fact is that while we weren't afraid of our parents, we knew not to disappoint or really piss them off. Your kid will be fine, trust me. My dad and I TO THIS DAY still go at it and I still look up to him (as much as I want to knock him out). I KNEW when I pushed it too far as a kid and I knew when I was going to get spanked (which is why I put a book in my ass and my mom went to crack me while running and SNAPPED THE SPOON, thus turning into a learning experiece). Fact is that all kids stray down the wrong road sometimes, it is part of life and learning, they will come back on the right path. trust me I have had so many forks in my road, I could supply a fast food joint for 10 years

You'll be fine.

Exactly, as long as I don't piss my mom off, I am ALL GOOD......

Mark,
I just put another recipe in the cookbook for you to try with your son.
Check it out.
Between you and me, if food is an issue, teaching him how to cook might be a good thing.
DTS

when hes hungry he will eat..dont sweat it..kids go through eating cycles durring growth...ive got two boys...10 and 16...fyi..and dont under any circumstances make anything special for one and not the othe or you will be fubar...whats for dinner /b fast is whats here eat or go hungry...