Notes from Motherhood is written by Anne, Mummy to Francesca, Molly and Benjamin. Anne is the BornFree Social Networking coordinator for the UK.

A few weeks ago, I was so inspired by the way my 3 year old handled a difficult situation. Molly has a lazy eye and poor vision. She’s also quite a fiery and dramatic little character. After her very first eye appointment, having heard the doctor talk about possible options, she clearly stated that she would not be wearing any eye patch! My husband and I decided not to push it, as due to past experience we’ve learned; Never Push It.

My daughter proved to me at her second appointment that she is capable of being a stoic and doing something that she really doesn’t want to.  She really didn’t want to be duped into having painful drops that made her vision blurry by a doctor who had hitherto seemed quite fun, nor have a sticky patch stuck over her one good eye, nor have lights shone in her eye by another, frankly not very exciting, doctor, nor try on lots of pairs of glasses that she didn’t want anyway, nor then did she want to have to wear the glasses and eye-patch for the foreseeable future.

However, all this is what she was willing to do because the eye-doctors, and Mummy and Daddy told her the truth and said it was the right thing. And she believed us. And she did it all with no fuss. No fuss at all. Awesome. And, she even managed to have fun and play with her brother and sister. And then go swimming. It was only when the hunger and tiredness took hold that she lost it a little bit, but after some pesto pasta (a gamble, as she normally turns her nose up but I thought I’d sneak it in as she seemed to be on a roll) she was her jolly little self again. And yes, she ate the pesto pasta.

I’m not denying that the chocolate and new stripy cat, acquired between the hospital and the opticians, didn’t play a part. And, no doubt, the lunch (pizza, of course) and the sundry toys purchased at favourite toyshops helped while we were waiting for the glasses to be ready.

It’s not really bribery, more a reward for positive behaviour, and she deserved it!

Thank you Molly the Brave.

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