Yes. I Bribe My Kids.

Remember last week when I posted my Wordless Wednesday about bribing the kids with candy for a picture before school? Someone left a comment that said "They won't pose for you without bribery?" and the truth is that no, they usually won't. Children of bloggers are constantly asked to pose for the camera, and they get tired of it...usually very quickly. So yeah, these days, I bribe them for smiles.

But that's not all. I bribe my kids for all kinds of stuff...to go pee on the potty (when they were being potty trained), to behave at school, to be nice to each other, etc. It isn't so much as a bribe as it is a little reward for doing something I want them to do. Kids can be stubborn, and if you're a parent, then you know that. Now, this isn't an every day occurrence, but sometimes kids just need a little extra encouragement.

This week's bribe has to do with a doctor visit. Rylie had her 5 year well check today, and she had been anxious about it ever since I told her last week she had to go. Ever since she had those blasted Rocephin shots as a baby, along with all of the tests she had when she was having tummy troubles, she has had anxiety at the doctor's office. She first asked if she had to get a shot, which she didn't, and I assured her of that, and then she asked if they were going to take her blood pressure. For whatever reason, Rylie is scared to death of that blood pressure cuff.

When I told her that they would have to take her blood pressure, she immediately started crying. I tried explaining to her that it was no big deal, but that didn't work. Then I asked her if I could squeeze her arm. She let me, and I squeezed it pretty hard. Then she laughed. I told her that the blood pressure machine wouldn't even squeeze it that hard. She made me do that several times over the weekend, almost as if she was psyching herself up for today.

We were playing My Little Pony over the weekend, and she realized that she only had two of the Princess Ponies and decided she wanted Nightmare Moon (Princess Luna). I took that as my opportunity to give her a little bribe for the upcoming doctor visit. I told her that if she would let them take her blood pressure without acting like a fool (she usually freaks out and won't let them even slide the cuff on her arm), then we would go to Target afterwards and look for Nightmare Moon.

So the appointment came, and we walked back into the room with the nurse after she was weighed and measured. The nurse immediately took the blood pressure cuff out and started to put it on her arm. Rylie smiled at me, and then the tears came. But she held her arm out and I could tell that she was really trying hard to be brave. The nurse looked really confused, so I had to explain Rylie's irrational fear to her, and before we knew it, it was over. And surprisingly, her BP was fine. Once that was done, the nurse gave us a gown for Rylie to change into before the doc came in.

The rest of Rylie's visit went great...well, almost. She was in the 50th percentile for both height (42.25 inches) and weight (38.5 pounds), passed her hearing test, has a straight spine, could hop on one foot and wiggle her pinkies. Everything checked out well. The doc had her write some letters and draw some shapes, which she did with ease. She asked me if Rylie was on par with her peers academically and socially, which she is, but I mentioned that a few of her friends could read and she couldn't. Her doc said not to worry about it and to let her be a kid for as long as I could and not push the academic stuff so much. She said she'll learn all of that in kindergarten and that if she already knows it, she'll just be bored anyway. That is what I have thought all along, but it made me feel good to have the doc reaffirm what I was already thinking.

Then the doc wanted to check her iron, because it had been low at her last visit. She made the mistake of telling Rylie that the nurse would come prick her finger, so she pretty much lost her mind when the nurse came in. I felt like I was trying to wrangle some wild animal. She balled her fingers up into her fist and was squirming all over the place. I finally got enough of a finger out for the nurse to get a prick, but just barely. Apparently I should have given her a quick bribe before that started! ;-)

Once that torture was over, we left the doctor's office and headed to Target to look for Nightmare Moon. After all, she let the nurse take her blood pressure, so I followed through on my word. Unfortunately, we didn't find Nightmare Moon, but we did find a new Barbie and two extra dresses for her, two bathing suits, a dress, and a couple of outfits for the summer. That girl is definitely a shopper! So the bribe ended up being a little extra, I guess. Whatever.

So yes, I bribe my kids. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

What about you? What is the strangest thing you have ever bribed your kid to do?