We've recently banned all candy and sweets of any kind as our daughter's after dinner treats.
Dangerous I know.
But so far all is well.
Why? How? What's our family secret?
No. It isn't electric shock. It's fruit. And they love it.
The thing is, candy is more fun. Fun labels, fun shapes, fun flavors. Just plain old fun.
Fruit is boring.
But it can be made fun.
Little bowls with funny eyeballs, little weird feet, funny pictures on the inside and, of course big wacky straws to suck up the juice and funkadelic spoons and forks to stab and scoop.
But here's the trick - the fruit has to be SWEET. Yep. As sweet as the candy. Otherwise, you're going to find yourself a frazzle with their peels for skittles and wind up threatening to hang your kids by their Buster Browns.
The answer: Ripeness.
My wife is a master at picking out fruits that are so ripe and sweet they'd embarrass a bag of M&M's.
Choose incorrectly though thus proving to your kids that fruit tastes like corrugated cardboard and you'll be finding yourself down that grocery aisle of a child's dreams.
