My child is a natural-born actress, and I’ve witnessed him throw temper tantrums that would bring a grown man to his knees.
When I don’t respond to his tantrum, she gets up and shrugs, as if to say he tried, but he’ll find another way to get what he wants, even if he knows it won’t work, but not long ago, we had one afternoon when it was summer-like temperatures, and he thought I should turn on the air conditioner. She told me how cool it was in his room, and that he was going to melt if he didn’t have an air conditioner. I told him I didn’t think his face was going to melt off and turn him into a puddle of goo. She turned around and asked me if I would turn on the air conditioner if he cried. I laughed and exited his room, but an hour later, I heard him running the bathwater. He was going to swim in the cold water in the bathtub if I didn’t turn on the air conditioner. He cried when I told him to have fun, but he had to clean up any spilled water. I just stared at her when she asked if I appreciated her. Nothing he could do would make me turn on the air conditioner. She was four, and it wasn’t my first time in the saddle. I raised two other four-year-old boys and was well-versed in all the tricks. I walked away after kissing his cheek and telling him how much I enjoyed him.