My almost-3yo dd occasionally"tells on" herself. 
For example, this morning, she asked if she could have some chocolate. I told her no, let's wait till later (I try not to be controlling about food choices, but I know how it affects her to have sugar in the morning!), and she understood. About 10 minutes later, I went to the basement to switch laundry loads, and when I came back, she told me about how while I was gone, she had taken her stepstool into the pantry and reached up to the chocolate and eaten a piece.
How would you respond? I almost just want to laugh! I mean, a piece of chocolate is not a big deal; that's not the issue. I'm just wondering what she's aiming for by going against what we've agreed on (atypical) and then telling me about it. I'm rather at a loss for what to say when she does this!
I should add that this isn't a daily problem at all. It doesn't happen often, and I don't think it's a behavior that needs immediate "correcting". That's not so much what's at stake. I just need some feedback on what to say to her when she tells me about it that way. Today, all I could muster was to "actively listen" and report back what she was telling me ("Oh, so you really wanted a piece of chocolate now, even though we agreed to wait till later. And you took your stool and you got one!"). That sort of seemed like enough to satisfy her... but I want to make sure I'm not missing a piece.
For example, this morning, she asked if she could have some chocolate. I told her no, let's wait till later (I try not to be controlling about food choices, but I know how it affects her to have sugar in the morning!), and she understood. About 10 minutes later, I went to the basement to switch laundry loads, and when I came back, she told me about how while I was gone, she had taken her stepstool into the pantry and reached up to the chocolate and eaten a piece.How would you respond? I almost just want to laugh! I mean, a piece of chocolate is not a big deal; that's not the issue. I'm just wondering what she's aiming for by going against what we've agreed on (atypical) and then telling me about it. I'm rather at a loss for what to say when she does this!
I should add that this isn't a daily problem at all. It doesn't happen often, and I don't think it's a behavior that needs immediate "correcting". That's not so much what's at stake. I just need some feedback on what to say to her when she tells me about it that way. Today, all I could muster was to "actively listen" and report back what she was telling me ("Oh, so you really wanted a piece of chocolate now, even though we agreed to wait till later. And you took your stool and you got one!"). That sort of seemed like enough to satisfy her... but I want to make sure I'm not missing a piece.
