I have a “dirty little secret” that I want to share with you: I’m not shy about using sugar as a bribing mechanism with D. To be fair, I don’t rely on bribery that often but there are definitely moments when I need/want him to cooperate and in those instances, I do not hesitate to whip out the candy.

The thing is, most of these times are when we are out in public. I don’t mean regularly planned errands to the grocery store and what not, but “special times” when I just want to do some fun shopping or meet some friends and have adult talk. Those are the times when my lollipops (and his affection for them!) come in handy.

I’ve had a few comments here and there from strangers … “Oh, wow! You have .. a lollipop?? …” and “Lucky you, you get lollipops at 10 am??” and the like. Some of it might be innocently spoken and some of it might be thinly veiled criticism. Here’s the thing – I don’t really care.

Little known fact but D is actually obsessed with green juice aka vegetable smoothies. I started giving them to him a year ago because he doesn’t like to eat raw vegetables otherwise and he surprisingly took to them and always wants to drink them. Like, I don’t even want to have green juice everyday but he’s constantly pestering me for it . And when I make green juice, it’s super green because I only put vegetables and -MAYBE- half an apple in there.

Also, he only gets water and almond milk at home … I’ve tried giving him juice boxes when we’re out at birthday parties and he doesn’t know what to do with them. He’s not one of those kids who’s constantly drinking fruit juice (even if it’s watered down, it’s STILL SUGAR WATER) all the time. He never has it!

Third, he loves brushing his teeth; obediently opening his mouth so that we can floss in between his little baby teeth each and every night. I am kind of a stickler about oral hygiene so it’s a non-negotiable for me and he’s so far cooperated beautifully.

And overall, he’s just a kid and I remember when I was growing up my parents had a garage full of candy (like, really – they had an entire wall shelf lined with boxes of all our favorite candies) and I was always allowed to have one as a treat after dinner or maybe as a “just because” on a warm summer night. I don’t think that the occasional (or more than occasional) lollipop while his mommy is out shopping and trying to have her own social life is going to ruin D. And if you’ve never tried lollipops for your toddler when you just want them to sit still while you grab lunch with a friend or browse the latest shoes at Nordstrom … go ahead and give it a try. It might work and I promise I won’t judge you! 🙂