Is this cruel?

[peacefulmayhem]

Toby and I made brownies after work today while dinner was cooking. Now, we grownups know (ok, maybe this is just me?) that half the *point* of making brownies is eating the batter. But batter has raw eggs in it, and you're not supposed to eat raw eggs, so I don't let Toby eat it. But I do send him off on little missions so I can lick the spoon etc. while his back is turned.

So, my questions: Is this cruel? Is Toby to have a batter-free childhood? How can I allow this to happen? It just doesn't seem right.

After dinner, we all got in jammies and had brownies & milk for dessert. That part was wonderful.

But I can't help but wonder about the batter.

Comments

[wren13.livejournal.com]

Use powdered egg whites instead. Lower cholesterol, no change in taste, and you can safely eat the batter. This is what I do for cheesecakes - yum!

[sebastian-tombs.livejournal.com]

Well, here's the real problem.

You get sick from eating raw eggs. Not likely, but just suppose. "Toby, remember how I wouldn't let you eat the brownie batter so that you wouldn't get sick? See, I did get sick. BECAUSE I'M A CHEATER." Hmmm...you'll have to figure out a more graceful way to explain that to him. Oh, and what if he catches you? Do you get a time-out, and have to sit in the corner while he eats cooked brownies?

In any case, I think that there are fights that you can't win. The fight against batter eating is one of these. Repress poor Toby through out his childhood, while all the other kids eat batter, and tell him how good he is, and as soon as he goes off to college, he'll stay up late on weekends binge batter-eating, and his schoolwork will suffer for it. Later on, when he is raising his own children, he will have to say "don't make the brownies while I'm around, because I had a 'batter problem' when I was younger. But don't worry, I've been clean now for 3 years, 7 months, and 18 days! One day at a time, Toby Jr. One day at a time."

Of course, we don't have kids of our own, so you may want to take my child-rearing advice with just a grain of salt.

[qbaz.livejournal.com]

On the one hand, the risk of salmonella is pretty darned small. I bet nearly every (adult) you know eats foods with raw eggs in them periodically, and I bet you know nobody who's had salmonella.

On the other hand, Toby's not old enough to be consciously able to decide to take that risk. So you get to make those kinds of risky decisions for him, for now. (Just like you can make the decision to drive, or ski, or drink coffee, or take on debt, or any of a thousand somewhat risky things adults can decide to do that kids usually can't.)

So from where I'm sitting? Barring some radical difference in immunological tolerances between 2-year-olds and adults, I think you're perfectly within your rights to decide for Toby that he's not going to take the (very, very slim) chance of getting salmonella, and you're simply being kind by not rubbing his face in the fact that you *are* going to take that risk.

I don't think you're being cruel. Especially since he gets to eat some of the cooked brownies later. :)

[tactical-grace.livejournal.com]

Just say no to battered children!

Chow down

[chuggid.livejournal.com]

My prize when I was a kid for winning a round in the spelling bee was that I got to eat an ENTIRE BOWL OF COOKIE BATTER. Just me with the bowl and a spoon. I survived to tell the tale. I also never ever ever ever ever ever want to eat cookie batter ever again.

[fotofile2002.livejournal.com]

Would him having a little taste be so bad ?

Just so you know, I wasn't allowed to eat the batter for fear of me getting worms when I was young. Whne I finally got up the nerve to eat the batter and I realized I wasnt going to die from it, i added it to the long list of stuff that my parents overreacted about. How is this for a compromise ? Can you zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds to kill the germs but still keep the raw batter ?

From Auntie Jen

[(Anonymous)]

Just wait 'til he's a bit older. Sending him on small missions so you can take your secret nip of batter won't work any more. He'll either catch you doing it, or he will smell it on your breath/see it on your lips/tongue after you've been sneaking. That is what I've run into with Andrew. Just let him have a nip of it every so often, when you can no longer divert him. It hasn't killed Andrew yet, though he's only 4 and 3/4ths :)

The Country Hen

[(Anonymous)]

The only egg producer in MA who has never had a positive test ever

http://www.countryhen.com/

[lesliefine.livejournal.com]

It would only be mean if you said, "No, Toby can't. But, Mommy can!" And proceeded to make yummy noises while diving in.

Seriously, though. He eats dirt. Have you ever actually met anyone who has gotten sick from eating batter. Let the kid have a lick....