An Ignoble Experiment: [Parent Hacks] 1 new post in Parent Hacks

2008/08/29

[Parent Hacks] 1 new post in Parent Hacks

Hello, ignoble.experiment@arconati.us, and thank you for subscribing to Parent Hacks. Got a hack you'd like to share? Send it to hacks@parenthacks.com, along with your name and Web address (if you'd like us to link to you).

Classic hack: Reverse psychology and the toddler

Duane's hack uses his toddler's natural propensity for saying "no":

One for the "don't forget the obvious" file: Reverse psychology, particularly for the 2yr olds, often works like a dream. My son is particularly vulnerable to it. Not a night goes by without this discussion: "Can you eat one more bite?" "NO!" "Ok, no more bites for you." "Yes bite!" and so on. Or "Come put on your pajamas." "No pajamas!" "Ok, no pajamas for you." "Yes pajamas for me!"

I've even made things up to test the theory: "Can I bite your nose?" "No!" "Ok, no Daddy bite your nose." "Yes Daddy bite my nose!" It's particularly cute to see a 2yr old chasing you down and trying to shove his nose into your mouth :). I don't know how long it'll last but I'm milking it as long as it does!

Your mileage may vary. I have a child who, when I tried reverse psychology on him as a toddler, called my bluff every time. It went something like this: "Can you eat one more bite?" "NO!" "OK, no more bites for you." (Crickets chirp; toddler squirms to be let out of his feeding chair thinking "that's what I said in the first place.") Sigh.