battle of wills or teaching time? - sorry long

[pdxcox]

My 2.5yr old DS and I went through a tough time last night and I still can't decide if I was in a battle of wills with him or if I actually was teaching him something. What do you think?
while we were cleaning up dinner DS got the box of bags out from the cupboard and pulled them all out to play a jumping game on across the kitchen, he was happy entertained and we all played together -even though I still am not sure I got the rules
so then came time to put the bags away so we could move to a new activity, he had been done with the bags for a few minutes by this point and was waiting for us to be done in the kitchen too.
so I said "lets get the bags back in the box and we can move to a new game, ok?"
"no mama, i'm not ready yet"
"ok, i'll wait here with you until you're ready."
He turned into a puddle at this, crying in my arms as i sat down next to the bags..
we went around and around for 10 minutes or so
"are you ready to put the bags away?"
"noooo, i no want to.." etc etc
i didnt get angry or tell him what to do, but how long do I push the issue?
should I have given in and just done it myself?
eventually DH who had been waiting with blocks in the living room came in with a game about monkeys who liked to put things in boxes, he jumped around and threw bags back away and DS eventually started to play with him.
i just felt stuck! i didnt want DS to think that he could just leave a mess for me, but it wasnt THAT important to me either.
usually he is happy to help put things away!
what would you have done?

[junipermuse]

honestly the way your dh came in and made a game o it was perfect. I think its fine to insist he help clean up with you. Making the cleanup fun just makes it easier on everyone.

[One_Girl]

Does he normally cry when you mention clean up or was he maybe tired and having a meltdown because of that. If my dd started crying because I told her that she could continue to play as long as she wanted, even at that age, I would have let it go and brought her off to do another activity. She doesn't have meltdowns unless something is bothering her though, if she did I wouldn't step down from an important issue. It sounds like it turned out well in the end. Not every day will be perfect. If you think you were getting into a power battle needlessly then you should go with that and plan a different action next time.

[MamaHappy]

Originally Posted by junipermuse

honestly the way your dh came in and made a game o it was perfect. I think its fine to insist he help clean up with you. Making the cleanup fun just makes it easier on everyone.

I completely agree with this.