Dear Shayna B.,

Sometimes after dinner I ask my mom for dessert, but she says no. My friend gets dessert every single night after she eats and it makes me soooo jealous!! Whenever I tell my mom about my friend she says that it’s because my friend doesn’t get to watch TV on school nights. I want to watch TV and get dessert on school nights too! What should I do?

Sincerely,

Dessert Loving Devorah

Dear Dessert Loving Devorah,

Do you get TV on school nights? What do you like better, TV or dessert? If you like dessert better, ask your mom if you can just have dessert, no TV on school nights.

However, you should figure out what exactly constitutes, counts as, a dessert in your family vs hers before you get too jealous.

Does all junk food count equally as dessert or are fancy sweets only what she means?

Would a bag of cheese curls be considered your idea of a special treat? If it is, that might just be the dessert your friend is talking about.

But if you take cheese curls and pretzels for granted you might actually already be getting to have your cake and eating it too.

Perhaps when your friend takes a bag of pretzels that’s what she means by dessert. Where you might not think twice, she might actually say, “Oh, I had a delicious dessert.”

But all your friend had was a bag of potato chips.

So, if that’s your situation you can say, “Me too, and I get to watch TV afterward.”

If none of my options work for you, grapes are better for you anyway.

Best of luck,

Shayna B.

Shayna is a fifth grader and understands what kids in elementary school are going through. She is happy to help others navigate this tricky time. She can be reached at [email protected]. She is looking forward to hearing from you soon.