Have you ever noticed that you never really need to “teach” your child to negotiate? And those little preschool papers where kids are supposed to circle the “bigger” piece of cake or pie… do kids EVER get those wrong? I think my 18 month old could probably answer that correctly, if he could stop drawing on the walls long enough to figure out how to circle the bigger one. But OH, he definitely knows which one is bigger. And both kids already know they want it. Give my kids ACTUAL pieces of cake, and they’ll identify (and squabble over) the biggest piece every time.
So on to the art of negotiation. I never taught that either, but somehow here we are…
“Mama, can I have a bite of your yogurt?”
“Sure, Juli, here you are.”
“Mmm… this is good, can I have another bite?”
“Umm… okay.”
“Mmm… well, Mama, how about I eat your yogurt, and I’ll share a bite with YOU???”
***
“Mama, I want that broom Alex is playing with!”
“No, Juli, he’s playing with it right now.”
“Well, how about when he’s done?”
“Sure, you can have it when he’s done.”
“Well, I think he’s done.”
“No, he’s not, he’s still playing with it.”
“What about if he puts it down?”
“If he puts it down, you can play with it.”
<Juli darts in, tries to take the broom>
“JULI!!!”
“What, Mama? It touched the ground! You SAID I could have it if he put it down, and I SAW the broom touch the ground!”
***
<Sigh>
Thats so familiar! I can just hear Clari "She's done now." Or their recent - being first, first down the stairs, first through the door etc.
ReplyDelete