Such a little con artist
pamelamyers | December 11, 2012
But such a cute one, is the problem. Sam is not so different from any other 3 year old in that she will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She will beg, whine, plead, cry, you name it. She rarely whines and cries unless she is really tired, which is good. Those tactics don’t really work all that well anyway. We get mad or annoyed and are less likely to give her what she wants. I know some parents tend to give in to the tantrums because it is easier than dealing with it, but Mark and I refuse to negotiate with terrorists (as he likes to tell her). A few of her latest gimmicks are more likely to lead to us caving in. I hate to have her think that just by doing something she is guaranteed to get what she wants, but it is hard to refuse her sometimes. Usually, if she asks for something and you say no, you get an, “Oh…pleeeease!” that is so hard to describe in words. But it is the most forlorn little Oh Please that you can imagine. And is hard to resist. Her second tactic is IMPOSSIBLE to refuse because it is so super cute. I have no clue where she got the idea to say or do this, but when she really, really wants something and you say no, she smiles a cute little smile and says, “Maybe a hug and a kiss would help” then proceeds to lay a huge kiss and hug on you. How do you say no to that? You don’t, that’s how. When I am really serious about saying no, I have had to resort to actually sort of running away from her so she can’t hug and kiss me! How crazy is that? I had no idea I was raising such a little con, but she really figured out what works…and she works it!