Can't Take No For An Answer.

I think I do pretty well as a parent. I can handle it all - sickness, injury, hunger, vampires - you name it. But the biggest enemy I have is Perceived Necessity.

Basically, it's sorting out the stuff my kids need from the stuff they just think they need. I can provide a peanut-butter sandwich no problem, but try to convince them they need that instead of the latest Optimus Prime Mega-super-set.

The oldest Boy is the worse. He just doesn't see "no" as being the end of the conversation. He will try to negotiate, stall, suggest, and outright bribe to get what he wants.

At worst, he just keeps asking every five minutes. (And that's the tactic that drives me nuts the most.) I just can't get him to understand that if I said "no" the last 12 times, what makes number 13 so special? He thinks that by asking me over and over it shows how much he "needs" to have what he wants.

That's twisted.

I've tried everything - time outs, time ins, listening to The Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want" - and it slowly seems to be working. (He gets his tenacity from his Dad - if it was plain 'ol stubbornness, I'd point to the maternal side of the equation.) But every once in a while it pops up again, and the battle ensues once more.

The reassuring thing?


I win at least 45% of the time.




Later.