JUICE!!!!

We've had a problem brewing for a while now and I finally decided to take action. The culprit? JUICE. We fell into the bad habit of giving Parker a cup of juice and turning on the tv every morning while we crawl back into bed and get a few more winks of sleep. I don't know exactly how it happened but it has become a morning ritual for Parker and she can't have one (juice or tv) without the other.

Now Georgia has fallen into this habit too. It started because she was anemic and we were giving her iron supplements in juice every morning and evening. Georgia has always been a great water drinker. But she won't touch milk. She can't stand it. I've tried soymilk, chocolate milk...nothing. She spits it out, which is quite funny to watch.

I started noticing that the girls were asking for juice more often. I'd always tell them no, "you get one cup in the morning and one cup at quiet time. And you know Dr. Pecht says you should only have one cup and I'm giving you two." Also, they weren't drinking the water I'd give them inbetween meals. They'd just hold out until it was time for the next cup of juice. This bothered me.

So I decided to lay down a new rule. No juice for Georgia, except on special occasions and

Parker could have one cup of juice while Georgia naps as long as she's had water and milk earlier in the day. I felt good about the new rule but apprehensive at the thought of instituting it.

The first day was just what I expected. I came into the kitchen and heard Parker ask, "Can I have some juice?". Well I had explained the new rule to her the night before but she gave it a try anyway. Georgia heard the word and began yelling, "Joooos! Joooos!" I filled up her water cup, making sure to put a few ice cubes in it and handed it too her. She threw it on the floor and ran to the other room, fell to the floor and began crying. I looked over at Parker who was having hard time watching tv without a cup of juice in her hand. I know the power of association and I was prepared for the jucie-tv association to take about a month to break. Ugh!

The next day was more of the same. But towards midday Georgia started sucking her water down just like she used to. This made me happy. There's somethign about kids drinking water that makes me a very happy mommy.

Day three was a total triumph for me. They both seemed to have forgotten about juice completely. They didn't even mention it! Parker forgot to ask for a cup of juice during Georgia's nap! I felt so victorious!