Friday, February 26, 2016

Calm Reasoning, and the Inevitable Conclusion


After Cubby and Charlie had finished their grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, I told them to get suited up to go outside. And while they were out there, they could get a sled-load of firewood from the shed for me.

Cubby immediately got a mutinous look on his face and announced very huffily, "No! I won't."

Now this is the kind of attitude that makes me want to let fly with an immediate backhand. I restrained myself, however, and instead went with the Approved Modern Parenting approach.

I knelt down at his eye level (he of course refused to meet my eyes) and told him in a very calm, low voice, "All morning you have been eating the food I prepared for you, wearing the clothes I washed for you, in a house that I have cleaned for you. Your contribution today is going to be getting some wood to keep the house warm."

His response, still with the attitude: "What does getting wood have to do with clean clothes?"

Me, still breathing deep and maintaining my tenuous control: "We all contribute to a pleasant house. Your contribution is getting the wood."

His response: "WHY?"

My distinctly un-modern-parenting response: "BECAUSE I SAID SO. NOW GET OUTSIDE."

He got.


Damn straight.

It's the cliched parenting answer from time immemorial for a reason: Because sometimes, "Because I said so," is all that's left to say.

3 comments:

tu mere mere said...

Seriously, at some point, logic and dialogue become a means to delay, confront, test boundaries and patience - in short, a no win battle. That's the point where the "just do it" becomes the patient parent's only option of choice. So, you achieved a win win because you got the wood and they got team building outside time!

Anonymous said...

Good for trying twice! After the first, it's hard to continue being reasonable.
Day by day....
-moi

Anonymous said...

I've been away for awhile and was having fun catching up, but this made my day! You go girl!!

Awesome parenting!

Susan, in NC