Shannon McCormick, left, serves a tomato for her 4-year-old daughter, Sophie Chapman. Although not fond of tomatoes, McCormick keeps that fact from her daughter, who loves them.Generally speaking, mom Shannon McCormick loves fruits and vegetables and wants to pass that on to her 4-year-old, but her resolve is tested when she encounters her plump, red nemesis: the tomato.
“Tomatoes are my kryptonite. I hate them. My daughter loves them, and I don’t want to even suggest that they’re anything less than delicious,” says McCormick, in Columbus, Ohio.
That’s why she choked down an evil chunk when her child stabbed it with a fork and held it to her lips a few months back.
“I just sat there and looked at her and thought, ‘Well I just have to do this,'” McCormick recalls. “I swallowed it whole.”
Kids, parents are people, too. Remember that when you’re older and learn of all the little things yours hid from you for the greater good or their pleasure alone. Absent serious crimes and misdemeanors, you’ll live to tell about it. Consider such moments great family stories and decide for yourselves whether you want to carry on the time-honored tradition of hidden vices and small deceits in parenting.