I'm staying with my daughter for a couple of weeks to help out with children as my grandson's school finishes stupidly early for the Christmas holidays and her work does not. Yesterday daughter gave grandson (aged almost 5) weetabix for breakfast and then he decided he didn't want it. The usual pattern is for him to then mess about until his mother (who is rushing to leave for work) loses patience and tells him he can leave the table without eating what he's been given. However, I intervened and told him that his mummy was going to work and having asked specifically for weetabix he could jolly well sit at the table until it was eaten. Daughter looked at my (scowling) face and told GS that "Granny's in charge" and scootled off to work. There really should have been High Noon music playing in the background as battle lines were drawn. I explained to grandson that because he'd asked for weetabix and because I know he likes it that he would have to stay at the table until it was eaten. He explained that he really didn't want it so he wasn't going to eat it. No fuss, no tantrums; just two implacable wills facing off over the breakfast table. After an hour of sitting at the table grandson said he might eat a little bit of it if it had some more sugar; I gave him a little more sugar. He ate one spoonful. An hour later he said he might eat a little bit of it if it had some more milk; I gave him a little more milk. He ate one spoonful. Then later still he said he might eat a little bit of it if it was warm; I nuked it in the microwave for a few seconds. He ate two spoonfuls. All this time he was quite happily sitting at the table humming to himself and chattering (I was mostly in the next room listening to him and now and again calling out encouragement to him to eat up) and a couple of times he got down to go to the loo. At about five to twelve he finally called me to say that he was going to eat his weetabix - and he did!!! For the rest of the day his behaviour was superb; lovely manners, lots of "I love you Granny"'s and he was a joy to be with.
This morning he asked for porridge for breakfast and told me that he was definitely going to eat it all up straight away - and he did!
I wonder where other grandmothers have drawn the line - and what was the result?
Should women have equal pay and opportunities?
To think that London, or anywhere else for that matter, does not belong to any one demographic