CHOCOHOLIC

Well, first off, let me just say this. Karen, I'm sorry I thought badly of you for giving your child DumDum suckers at two years of age. Please forgive a first time, one child mother. Now that I am on child #3 I want to say to all mothers of only one child, it's okay to keep junk away from your kids because they don't need it and they don't know what they are missing, but please don't feel badly about giving in to #2 and #3 ect. when they clearly see older siblings having it and know it's much better than whatever they've been having. Now, I won't be sharing my dark chocolate truffles, but bring on the dumdums and m&ms! In this family, each successive child has experienced "the good stuff" earlier than the previous. Hallie, a true daughter of mine, has taken a liking to chocolate. Often I will hear her making "monkey noises" in the kitchen and will find her standing at the pantry door reaching up. Within the pantry lies the treasure, a dish full of all kinds of little sweets. She has learned her manners very quickly, please and thankyou (in sign, with her own verbal versions) to get what she wants. She will also dish out the kisses if she is really desperate. Yesterday she discovered the chocolate syrup in a cabinet she had access to.