Diplomacy

There was seemingly nothing that could be done. They had tried everything from tempting to tricking to forcing to begging, but they didn't get anywhere with her. The situation was locked, because the girl simply refused to eat the soup that her parents had put in front of her. She would not even touch the silver spoon that lay beside her bowl. The girl had decided not to eat. Only babies eat their food with a spoon.

At last her father came up with a bright idea that might be worth trying. He laid a fork beside her bowl of soup gone cold and waited for a reaction. The girl thought about it for a little while, before grapping the fork and eating her soup with it.

4-year old girls can be tough negotiators.