Choices

Today we took the kids out for fast food. This is a rare treat for us, so it was a big deal. Katie had been lobbying to go to Burger King because we often drive by one that has a prominent play area. That would have been fine, but I made the mistake of asking the kids where they wanted to go.

First they both said Burger King. Then the wheels in Katie's head started to spin. She remembered back a year to the only time we've eaten at a Burger King. The kid's meals had Star Wars toys, and Katie was upset because there were no "girl toys". She started explaining to Tom that if we went to Burger King, there would be no certainty of getting a gender-appropriate toy. Tom was swayed and they both announced they wanted to go to McDonalds.

OK. Only there were no McDonalds with play areas near, and we weren't even sure where one might be. We told the kids they had to decide which was more important, boy and girl toys, or a play area. Never ask two siblings to decide between two options. Tom said that a play area was critical. Katie, of course, said a girl toy was the important thing.

We had allowed ourselves to land in the position of having to choose between the two, pick a third alternative that no one wanted, or scrap the mission altogether. Matt flipped a coin. McDonalds. Tom cried. Katie gloated, but just a little. We ordered our food, got our drinks, found a table and cracked open the Happy Meals. Katie and Tom got identical cars from the movie Cars. Katie's turn to cry.

It seems our careful parenting had resulted in a lot of fuss and no one getting what they really wanted. We did enjoy our french fries, though.