The Big Blue ball

Okay, so something happened this past week, that really got me to thinking about how other people impact our kids on a daily basis. Grandparents for instance... Let's run through this (of course hypothetical) scenerio...

You go to Toys R Us to look for something with your parents. Your child sees something that they really MUST have, but obviously do not need and proceed to throw a huge fit about not being able to get it...my motto with my kids is and always has been, "if you throw a fit, you are choosing NOT to get what you want..."...but you are with your parents, who have the opinion that all children should have anything and everything regardless of why. (I am not sure if your parents are that way, but mine sure are!) So, I really have to stand my ground and be the big, mean mommy often when these situations arise. So, you tell the child they cannot have the big blue ball and try to leave when your silly old father buys it and gives it to the child without you seeing...

*FIRST of all, the child really didn't want the ball--he or she wanted control of the situation and just got it...
*SECOND of all, my parents just made me look like a ninny in front of my child, so some MAJOR boundaries are going to have to be drawn!

Like I said, this is obviously hypothetical, but this is what I would have TRIED to do...
*told the child no, if it is really something they don't need or something I don't want them to have...OR they throw a HUGE fit when I insinuate they won't get it...
*Even children as young as 15 months of age can understand that they will not get rewarded for screaming like a crazy person (let's try to teach that as young as we can, right?)
*then, if my crazy father had proceeded to do it, I would have explained that he was going to really make the child sad when I had to take it away from her...and I would have...regardless--I had said no and "no means no" not "no until Grandpa says yes"
*then next time we went to Toys R Us, I would make a HUGE effort to go shopping and leave with nothing...but have a wonderful time there playing...I hate the assumption that everytime we go in somewhere we have to leave with something or "I'm in trouble"