Claire Can Be Bought

Meet the Backyardigans. 

They are characters from Claire's favorite show of the same name.

They sing and dance and go on imaginary adventures.

Their adventures often involve very bizarre (but silly) missions, like delivering a pizza to a king at Chichen-Itza.

So, Claire has been a puny eater lately.  She used to pound PediaSure like a college kid at a frat party, but over the past few weeks, she has turned her nose up at it and will barely take 3 oz.  She used to do similarly well with solids, but more recently has preferred to spit her food out.

After we discovered last week that she had a UTI, we attributed her changed behavior to that.  Nobody wants to eat when they feel sick, and we assumed that was probably the case for Claire, too.

However, even after we started treating her UTI, her eating habits did not improve immediately.  So, we started troubleshooting.  Pickiness?  Teething?  Food aversions? Neurological issues?  A number of theories were floated.

Then, on Friday, Claire's nanny tried something:  Positive Reinforcement.  (Or, as I like to call it, "bribery.")  She told Claire that if she finished her lunch, she could watch the Backyardigans and have "gargle time."  

Surprisingly, Claire complied.  She ate her entire lunch and kept looking at the bowl to see what was in it, as though she was keeping track of how much more she had left.

So, the moral of the story (if there is one) is that Claire can be bought.  All it takes is the promise of television and gargling.  I don't know what that says about her, or about us as parents, but it sure is nice to see Claire behave in seemingly typical ways!