Day 740 - Poll Results & New Poll

Last week I asked whether or not we should take pictures of the kids in a photo studio. Fifty-eight percent voted that we should take pictures, but only order a few photos and not the ridiculously-overpriced-but-it's-worth-it-because-it's-your-child package. If you add that with the twenty-nine percent who thought we should take pictures no matter the cost, an overwhelming eight-seven percent want us to take pictures.

I do agree that we should probably take the kids to a studio to take a handful of photos. They're only two once and it would be nice to have a few professional photos to stash away with my 4200+ other pictures. I just hope a hundred percent of the eight-seven percent who voted that we take pictures will generously donate a substantial amount of money to my PayPal account to pay for these ridiculously-overpriced-but-it's-worth-it-because-it's-your-child pictures.

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Despite their still limited speech, Emma and Andrew comprehend quite a bit. I'm pretty sure that every week they are learning new words to make our lives both easier and difficult. For those of you adults out there who still have an independent life, what I mean by easier and difficult is that although it is easier to communicate with the kids, it is also more difficult because the comprehension of words also creates opinions, specific needs, and endless temper tantrums.

But what Lisa and I have learned with this increased vocabulary and comprehension is that you can now use bribery as a parental tactic. During dinner, if Emma does not eat her vegetables, I will tell her that if she does not eat her broccoli she will not get any fruit. And poof! She eats her vegetables. While cleaning up before bedtime, if Andrew refuses to help, I will tell him that if doesn't help I will not read him a book. And poof! He cleans up. If we're at the shopping mall and Lisa tells me I can't buy a video game, I will tell her that if she doesn't let me buy it I will never make sweet, sweet, monkey love to her ever again. And poof! She really, really begs me not to buy the video game.

With this new discovery of bribery, I was wondering how suitable it is to use this strategy. Is it okay to use once in a while? Should we use it as often as possible? Or are we just asking for it ten years from now?