Dear Mom who said vegetables were good for you?

Dear Mom who said vegetables were good for you?

Claire seems very happy, in her five year old mind, to eat vegetables every day. She recently asked me why an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I suspect she picked that saying up at kindergarten. "It is because apples are good for you and if you eat one everyday you will stay healthy and not have to go to the doctor."

“And get a shot?” she added. The doctor’s office is not bad just because it is a doctors office. It has an added threat of possible torture by injection.

“That’s right,” I said.

“Are grapes good for you too?” I like the way she makes the leap from apples are fruits so other fruits might work too.

“Yes grapes too, fruits and vegetables are good for you and if you eat a lot of them they will keep the doctor away.” As I say this I am remembering that it is almost flue shot time. And with the H1N1 vaccine as possibly being a two shot series I am worrying about the malevolent effects it will have on our current conversation.

So now how do I explain that shots keep the doctor away too? I mean really, we go through all this trouble to eat vegetables, then you have to get a shot anyway, just in case? It is a hard thing to sell to a five year old.

“I sure like keeping the doctor away.” She ponders this for a bit and I make a note of the fact she did not say, I sure like vegetables, but that she likes keeping the doctor away.

So, the old adage has done its job, I have tricked my daughter into eating vegetables just to keep away the mean ole’ doctors and now I am going to reward her by taking her to the doctor to get a shot.

I think we need to reframe our message.

Love Mike