A Thousand Times, No
After observing my son Drake at his three-year checkup, our doctor commented “I see he has an oppositional personality.” He recommended a book, which I got from the library and have yet to read. My husband and I were talking about the oppositional thing yesterday. Drake was in the other room.
“Yeah,” I said. “He’d probably claim that the sun wasn’t shining on a day like today.” (The weather was clear and beautiful.)
Drake came running into the room. “The sun is NOT shining,” he stated.
I laughed. “Yes, honey, it is.”
“NO, it is NOT!”
Meaningful glance exchanged between parents.
Today we were walking home from church. The closer we got, the more reluctant Drake became. “Let’s cross the street to our house,” I coaxed.
“It’s NOT our house.” he shouted.
“Um, yes it is. That’s our house, right there, across the street. Let’s go to our house.”
But Drake was adamant. “That’s NOT our house!”
I tried a different tack. “OK, Drake, let’s go to our house. Which house is our house?”
He pointed vaguely up the street. “That guy’s house. I want to go to that guy’s house, Mom.”
I reminded him. “But if we go to that guy’s house, we can’t ring the doorbell. Why don’t we cross the street and ring the doorbell?”
That was part of what finally worked. Drake likes to push buttons, in more ways than one.