**this post is from August 2012. I drafted it and never published it! So here it is, a bit late.
I saw a mom give her preschool kid a real consequence at the park today. She said one more time down the slide and he said "OK!" He went down the slide and then ran back up the playground apparatus. She said nothing, just waited at the bottom of the slide. He thought he was getting away with something so he slid down laughing. Big mistake.
Mom took his hand and led him to their bench. She picked up her bag and began to walk to the car. He screamed and said she promised him a snack. She responded "You agreed to once more down the slide. You broke your word, now I am breaking mine." I could not have scripted a better response. Then she let him go crazy crying for about 4 minutes, at which point he tired out. Mom picked him up and away they went. Swoon.
What worried me was the response from other parents after she left. Two moms and a dad were clustered together talking about how harsh the mom was in dealing with her son.
"He only wanted to go down the slide one more time."
"Oh, that poor child!"
"I wonder how that mom would like it if someone led her away from the spa kicking and screaming?"
These were the real reactions from parents present at this situation. Please. I say the child had it coming and I laud the mother for her determination and lack of emotion. He will likely be well-adjusted in his teen years since he knows exactly how far to push his parents (as he has been learning from a young age). I pity the indulgent parents who let their tots run the show. Someday those "sweet" children will be adolescents and think they still run the show. And those parents won't know what hit them.
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