"I'm Doomed!" so said my 5 year-old son last Saturday when his temper tantrum failed to yield results. We were all over at a friends house to watch a football game. Oliver has little patience for football but we brought toys and a mini-dvd player with some favorite movies to try to keep him happy, This worked for the first half but soon after halftime the temper tantrum began. He was mostly bored and not getting his way but his anger continued to grow the longer we stayed. My wife and I had each taken him aside to talk to him with little effect. We tried not to let him get to us and my wife simply told him that we were going to be staying for a while longer and that in this particular situation he would simply have ot accept it. "I'm Doomed" that stopped her in her tracks as she was walking away. "Why are you doomed?" she asked. "My plan wont work, I thought that if I got angry enough I could be the boss of you and dad for a little while."
I think all kids give this method a try, yell and pout until they get their way, but it struck me that he explained it as a plan, something he had mapped out in advance. Not only that but was willing to articulate this plan once he realized that it would not work. Sometimes I wonder how long it will be before he really is the boss.
