Never before had the word “no” held such promise. It rolled off Ben’s tongue before his second birthday and I was certain his early assertion of will represented an acute sense of self. Worries about his succumbing to peer pressure? Eliminated. The promise of success on the debate team? Confirmed!
Okay…perhaps my assumptions were just slightly innacurate. I soon realized the power of “no” gave my pint-sized son the ability to profess disagreement with anything–at any time. The parent-child relationship entered the phase of “The Great Power Struggle”. I’m just wondering when we’ll be move on to the next phase…Ben gets his driver’s license this spring.
FYI: Love and Logic workshop (Avoiding Power Struggles), Thursday 2/24