When I told my son he could ride on the bike in the store, I really didn't think he would fall in love with it so quickly. The more he rode on it, the more he told me we needed to buy it. He did not want to leave the store without it. I kept saying, "I am not prepared to buy this bike today." and "We are not buying this bike right now." He was determined to leave the store with the bike. I was determined to leave the store without it. I was also determined to not use a threat or bribe this time to get him off of the bike and out of the store.
So I waited and I waited. I decided I didn't care that the ice cream was melting, I wanted to see if I could avoid using the typical threat that I use, "If you want to play the wii game, we need to leave right now." Lately it works like a charm, but I wanted to see if I could get by without a threat. So I waited.
His best argument was that we needed to buy the bike now because somebody else might buy it and he wanted this very one. I didn't know how to respond to that one! It was a good point! I paused and thought and then said, "Honey, if we go and come back and the bike is not here, I will give you fifty dollars." (which is less than the bike costs anyway) I wasn't opposed to buying the bike sometime somewhere, just not now. I reminded him of what we told him before...that if he learned to ride on two wheels, he could get a new bike.
Finally, he said, "OK." in a defeated tone and we left the store. He was subdued and mopey until he asked for an ice cream cone. OK, I'll say yes to that! He did so well not causing a scene and walking away from the bike that he really wanted! I 'd love to give him an ice cream cone. It wasn't a bribe!! And I didn't have to threaten him!! This time anyway. It was a more peaceful way to handle a potentially ugly situation. Yay!!!
Happy parenting!
Love,
Alison
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