during one day in march, i took my kids to the mall to run around (because it was cold out)…and once they saw the toy store it was all over, game over…

or maybe, it was game on…

once we crossed the threshold of the store, all i heard was…

i want this, i want that…

from superheroes to legos to games…it was a non-stop barrage of begging and pleading…then, after an hour there…i pulled them away, and we went to another store…there were some toys there, too…and it began again…

i kept thinking…

what happened to my sweet children?! where have they gone?!

i fought off those punches, too…and left the mall…without buying them a single thing…as we left, they were whining and unhappy–and i was smiling and happy…even though i felt a little bit like the bad guy…and even though it wasn’t an easy or fun thing to do…to repel those requests…it’s not…it’s not the peak of the mountain for a parent…but, a little rise, a hilltop, when it turns out…and i’ll take it!!!

i mean, they must have asked me for a toy at least 1000 times…and i must have said “NO” in equal measure…

but at the end of it all, the score was…

daddy 1 – 0 jack & grace

it may not seem like much, but it was a huge victory…and a bigger one for them (later in life)…

now, don’t get me wrong…i’ve been “played” before (like a fiddle in the devil went down to georgia)…manipulated by my four year-olds…lost out to their wishes and will before (it’s crazy how early they learn those skills–how early we learn those skills)…but, i keep trying…and on that day in march, i thought to myself…i won this round–we won this round…

all along, as they were working me over…i kept hearing that voice in the back of my head…it was the voice of dr. david walsh, parent and child expert…encouraging me, reminding me…

we say “no” to our kids because they can’t say “no” to themselves–in doing so, someday they will be able to!

thank you, dr. walsh!