Reverse Psychology

Sometimes, desperate parents fall back on desperate measures. If the boy is engaging in olympian level stubborness, it may be time to pretend that he can't have or do exactly what I want done.

This is my bubble bath. You wait your turn! These are daddy's carrots! Daddy wants to go to sleep, you stay up. More often than not, this strategy works, due to his lovely oppositional streak. But, it should be used only sparingly. Fifteen years from now, it would be a bit of a bummer to encourage him to flunk out of school to do his pop proud.

Then again, in fifty years, I might find myself saying please don't visit. I want to be left alone!