I don’t know about any of the other parents out there, but the majority of the time my wife and I tell our kids it is time to eat dinner, we are met with groans and complaints. Unless, of course, we are having one of their favorite meals: pizza, spaghetti or meatloaf. They will sit, and oftentimes, before even taking a bite, they ask, “How much do I need to eat to be done?” or “How much do I need to eat to have a treat?” If some sort of dessert is provided, as soon as they have it their dinner is pushed to the side or taken to the sink. They aren’t thinking about dinner anymore, because they have what they really want. They don’t sit down and eat dinner because they are hungry or because they recognize they need nutrition to sustain themselves; they eat because they have to and it just a means to the end of getting dessert.