I'm not really sure if this is discipline, but I thought I'd get some feedback from the wise parents here.
I often find myself backed into a corner with "logic" discussions from my kids and I end up frustrated and angry, and it's usually when I've tried to be nice and said yes to something that they really want. The latest one went something like this: An Oriental Trading catalog arrived that ds1 was looking through. He saw this particular bubble gum that he really wanted, and it only came in boxes of 12. Not 12 pieces, but 12 packages. He was going on and on about this gum for a couple of weeks, and kept doing different chores in hopes of earning enough to get the gum. At one point dh and I finally said he could get the gum.
So we sat down to order it. It was $15, but then shipping was going to be $8 or something. I called a local candy store, and they had the gum in individual packages. So I told ds we would go there the next day and he could buy some of the gum. Well, he wanted to know if he could buy 12 packages since that's what we'd already said yes to. I said that the gum in the store was more expensive (almost $2/pack), so no, we couldn't buy 12, but he could buy a couple and pick out a few other pieces of candy. Fine.
So today I pick them up from their camp and we're going to head to the candy store. My 6yo starts begging me for a root beer. I say no, we're going to the candy store, and that's too much sugar for one day. He says he doesn't wany any candy, he just wants a root beer. Well, sugar crap is sugar crap, so after a discussion making sure he understands his decision, I buy him the rootbeer.
We go to the candy store, and ds1 picks out his candy. We pay, and they're sitting there watching a little video the store has playing. Ds1 mentions something about getting ice cream the next day after camp, which we had discussed at the beginning of the week. (I swear, we don't normally eat this much sugar - it all just kind of happened at once.) Ds2 then says that he doesn't want any ice cream tomorrow, that he'd rather pick out candy today. I say he can't eat it today because it's too much sugar after having had the rootbeer. He says fine, he'll pick it out today and eat it tomorrow after the ice cream.
At this point I feel like the whole thing is just getting ridiculous. What started out as letting them buy some bubble gum is ending up with bags of candy, trading rootbeer and ice cream, and just generally making me uptight.
I'm angry at myself for not just putting my foot down and saying no, but then I don't want to be making illogical decisions. I feel like this happens all the time. I say yes to one thing, then they're trying to swap it out for something "equal," then trying to negotiate something else instead, and I end up pissed and not wanting to do anything. Am I the only one ends up in these ridiculous situations?
I often find myself backed into a corner with "logic" discussions from my kids and I end up frustrated and angry, and it's usually when I've tried to be nice and said yes to something that they really want. The latest one went something like this: An Oriental Trading catalog arrived that ds1 was looking through. He saw this particular bubble gum that he really wanted, and it only came in boxes of 12. Not 12 pieces, but 12 packages. He was going on and on about this gum for a couple of weeks, and kept doing different chores in hopes of earning enough to get the gum. At one point dh and I finally said he could get the gum.
So we sat down to order it. It was $15, but then shipping was going to be $8 or something. I called a local candy store, and they had the gum in individual packages. So I told ds we would go there the next day and he could buy some of the gum. Well, he wanted to know if he could buy 12 packages since that's what we'd already said yes to. I said that the gum in the store was more expensive (almost $2/pack), so no, we couldn't buy 12, but he could buy a couple and pick out a few other pieces of candy. Fine.
So today I pick them up from their camp and we're going to head to the candy store. My 6yo starts begging me for a root beer. I say no, we're going to the candy store, and that's too much sugar for one day. He says he doesn't wany any candy, he just wants a root beer. Well, sugar crap is sugar crap, so after a discussion making sure he understands his decision, I buy him the rootbeer.
We go to the candy store, and ds1 picks out his candy. We pay, and they're sitting there watching a little video the store has playing. Ds1 mentions something about getting ice cream the next day after camp, which we had discussed at the beginning of the week. (I swear, we don't normally eat this much sugar - it all just kind of happened at once.) Ds2 then says that he doesn't want any ice cream tomorrow, that he'd rather pick out candy today. I say he can't eat it today because it's too much sugar after having had the rootbeer. He says fine, he'll pick it out today and eat it tomorrow after the ice cream.
At this point I feel like the whole thing is just getting ridiculous. What started out as letting them buy some bubble gum is ending up with bags of candy, trading rootbeer and ice cream, and just generally making me uptight.
I'm angry at myself for not just putting my foot down and saying no, but then I don't want to be making illogical decisions. I feel like this happens all the time. I say yes to one thing, then they're trying to swap it out for something "equal," then trying to negotiate something else instead, and I end up pissed and not wanting to do anything. Am I the only one ends up in these ridiculous situations?
Maybe it's just a general vent about parenting!
