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I love the way the kid was so obviously deliberately manipulating the dad. Wonderful acting. You could just see him make up his mind that he was going to get what he wanted no matter what.
My niece has done that before, decided she would act so awful that her parents would never leave her alone and go out of town together again. <laughs> Didn't bother me a bit but I think it upset grandma (she and I together were keeping her) and through her it got to my sister and brother in law too. Seems to have worked pretty well because of that. I think they were too embarrassed at how horrid she was to ask anyone ever to take care of her again.
But am I the only one who has a hard time keeping a straight face when kids act so terrible like that? You're trying to 1) be stern so you can have some authority and 2) take their desperate emotional state at least semi-seriously so as to not further upset them, but sometimes (particularly in public like that when they act just SO horrible) I am overcome by hilarity. There's always a part of me that understands exactly how they feel and wishes I could sit down and wail at the top of my lungs too. So it just cracks me up. No wonder they all know what a pushover I am.
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But seriously, my littlest sister is just like that and it's awful to see how calculatingly badly-behaved she can be over something like food. She knows exactly how to shift people to her side, and how to irritate people and she's only four.
It makes me sad to see children like that. Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Smart kids are going to be smart enough to figure stuff like that out, though. You should have heard my other niece's dissertation on salesmanship of girl scout cookies. She showed me exactly how to look very innocent and sweet and vulnerable so people would feel for her and reach for those wallets. She sells hundreds of boxes every time.
I don't know. I guess after they read enough good books and hear messages at church about truthfulness and consideration for others, not to mention seeing the dynamics of mean and grasping kids at school versus kids who are just sweet, they eventually decide they don't like manipulating people. They eventually decide who they want to be, and it's not the selfish ones. I guess. Who knows? I like all three of my nieces as people now. They are really great.
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I am SO mad that I couldn't download that this morning now. That was hilarious. Priceless.
I may have said this in another thread, but I never threw a tantrum like that. Well, maybe once, but never, never again.
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