Dinner time

As a mother of 5 young children, I've pretty much heard every, and I mean EVERY excuse in the book when a child doesn't want to eat their dinner. Now I have another one to add to the list.

Rianne, who is 5, was the last one at the table and likely had about a dozen other things she figured she'd rather be doing. Children who never know the gnawing of true hunger develop a well founded belief that the food will always be there, so they aren't worried about walking away. I'm not finding fault in this; it's simply an observation.

At any rate, Rianne looks at me with her large, round gray eyes and says, "Mommy I'm full."

Because I'm not an idiot, I don't take that at face value. I look at her three or four bites and say, "You can finish that. It's not much."

She's at the arguing stage and says, "But, it will make my knee hurt if I eat it!"

Kudos to moms who can think on their feet. After a brief hesitation, I say, "It will, huh?" (real zinger, I know)

This goes on for a bit because I have not accepted the fact that logic and children simply don't mix. I'm stubborn that way. But eventually she eats those last few bites and goes on with life.

So I've got to know--What's the best excuse your child or children ever gave for not eating or finishing their food?