Peregrine is an OK eater, but he - like many three year olds - only wants to eat the yummy parts. In his case, that means he mostly doesn't eat vegetables. He's ok with broccoli and carrots, sometimes, but by and large getting him to eat even a single bite of his veggies is like pulling teeth.
The other night, though, I had a cunning plan. Capitalizing in his recent trend towards oppositional defiance, after we served the plates I immediately told him "Peregrine, you're not allowed to have any more vegetables. That's ALL you get!"
He looked a little confused for a second, and then started asking 'why'...but I could see the defiance building behind his glasses. Pretty soon he was loading his fork with veggies, and taking huge bites and mouthfuls of them. I relented slightly and said, well, if he eats them all then <i>maybe</i> he could have some more, but until he ate them all what was on his plate was all he was allowed.
Would you believe, he even had seconds? It was a veggie mix, so he even ate green beans - something he has never been willing to choke down!