• Home
  • About
  •  

    How about 1/2 a cookie? Two cookies!

    Do you ever feel like negotiating with a toddler is like negotiating with a terrorist? Toddlers:

    1. Have no patience

    2. Do not understand/follow logic

    3. Are often-times incomprehensive (verbal skills wise)

    4. Do not tire of saying “No!” or insisting on whatever it is they want RIGHT.NOW

    5. Are happy to blow up your personal sanity in order to achieve their goal

    I really feel that the best way to train a negotiator is to put them through a few months of working with toddlers. Negotiating my guy, for example, into a new diaper is both a mentally and physically exhausting activity.

    As a related example (although not a true illustration of G at his worst), here’s a story of yesterday’s snack time negotiation.

    G (after he had finished a container of yogurt): Cookie!

    Me: Ok G, I can give you half a cookie.

    G: TWO cookies!!!

    How did we get from 1/2 a cookie to 2? S has trained him for two by offering him one for each hand. Thanx, S! So this is where Mommy thinks fast and breaks 1 cookie into 2 halves, and gives each hand something to hold. Yeah, I lost. It wasn’t half a cokie. He got double what I offered. But he didn’t win either, and it was an arrangement I could live with.

    I’ve been worn down many times though, and G’s won many more than I’d like to admit. This whole parenting thing is not quite the dictatorship I thought it would be. Sigh!

    2 responses to “How about 1/2 a cookie? Two cookies!”

    1. Shane says:

      And I thought I was ‘winning’ with 2. It would start like this:

      G: Cookie!!!
      S: Okay, here’s a cookie.
      G: No! 6!
      S: Huh? 6? how about 2? One for each hand?
      G: Ok

      and he walks off munching on a cookie from each hand.

    2. Courtenay says:

      You look so great! I love reading your updates! Congratulations and good luck with S2. Xxxooo

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *