Jack logic
Yesterday evening (Sunday) had rolled around, and neither of our children had laid down for their usual afternoon nap. Jack is getting to the point where he doesn't actually need an afternoon nap every day, and usually only takes one in the event that he a) didn't sleep well the previous night, b) got up really early, or c) has played so hard that he's near exhaustion and needing to rest. Delaney, on the other hand, still needs to nap for at least an hour or more each afternoon in order to be socialble in the evening, and not a monster to deal with at bed time from being so overly tired.
By this time, it was nearly 7 PM and we were preparing dinner. Freezer pizzas for the kids, and just a simple sandwhich for me. Karen wasn't feeling hungry yet. Delaney was getting very cranky; but the last thing that we wanted to have happen was to let her fall asleep before having dinner. If she fell asleep then, she would most certainly be up in the middle of the night, with her sleep pattern out of whack.
In order to keep her up just a little bit longer, I figured I'd bribe her into staying awake until dinner, and just possibly end up giving her a little bit of a sugar high. I offered her some 'Smarties' candies; usually a favorite of hers. She eats them all the time at Linda's house, and she can usually be bribed with Smarties. But, she wasn't taking the bait. She wanted nothing to do with the candy, at least not at that moment.
While waiting for the pizza to cook, I heard Delaney scream "Mine! Mine candy, Jack." I ran into the room to see what was going on, and saw Jack finishing off the last of the smarties. Delaney was staring at him and quite beside herself that her brother had eaten her candy; even though she had said she didn't want it just 5 minutes before.
I asked Jack if he had eaten her candy (I already knew the answer, as he was still chewing it up). "Yeah. She didn't want it, so I ate it," he replied. I told him that it wasn't his candy to decide whether or not she wanted it, and wasn't his to have eaten. Our conversation then went something like this:
Jack: "Well, can I have some candy too?" I wan't some candy.
Me: "You just had some candy."
Jack: "That was Dini's candy. I want some candy of my own."
Me: "You should have thought of that before you ate her candy. You already ate it, and that's all of the candy you're going to get before dinner."
Jack: Well, I didn't like that candy, so I wan't some different kind. Can I pick out some candy?"
Me: "No. You chose to eat Dini's candy, so there's no more candy before dinner." At this point, Delaney is still crying because her candy got eaten, so I got down another smarties pack and gave it to her.
Jack: "Why does she get MORE candy before dinner, and I don't? I want some."
Karen and I could barely hold our laughter. His brain was working the logic around in tightly wound circles, and we could barely contain ourselves.
Me: "Jack,... she's not getting more candy. I'm giving Dini her first candy, because you ate the candy that was supposed to be hers."
Jack: "It's not fair. I want some too"
I lost it. I had to step outside into the garage to let out my laughter. He honestly believed that he wasn't getting something that Delaney was getting, even though he had already eaten as much candy as she was at that moment eating. I told him that if he ate all of his dinner, that he could have a brownie; but no more until after dinner. That seemed to satisfy him, and brought the Candy Logic issue to an end.
PS: Delaney ended up falling asleep right after eating her candy, and only napped for about an hour. She got back up at around 9 PM, but was convinced to go back to ben when Karen and I started wrapping up the evening. She ended up just fine.
By this time, it was nearly 7 PM and we were preparing dinner. Freezer pizzas for the kids, and just a simple sandwhich for me. Karen wasn't feeling hungry yet. Delaney was getting very cranky; but the last thing that we wanted to have happen was to let her fall asleep before having dinner. If she fell asleep then, she would most certainly be up in the middle of the night, with her sleep pattern out of whack.
In order to keep her up just a little bit longer, I figured I'd bribe her into staying awake until dinner, and just possibly end up giving her a little bit of a sugar high. I offered her some 'Smarties' candies; usually a favorite of hers. She eats them all the time at Linda's house, and she can usually be bribed with Smarties. But, she wasn't taking the bait. She wanted nothing to do with the candy, at least not at that moment.
While waiting for the pizza to cook, I heard Delaney scream "Mine! Mine candy, Jack." I ran into the room to see what was going on, and saw Jack finishing off the last of the smarties. Delaney was staring at him and quite beside herself that her brother had eaten her candy; even though she had said she didn't want it just 5 minutes before.
I asked Jack if he had eaten her candy (I already knew the answer, as he was still chewing it up). "Yeah. She didn't want it, so I ate it," he replied. I told him that it wasn't his candy to decide whether or not she wanted it, and wasn't his to have eaten. Our conversation then went something like this:
Jack: "Well, can I have some candy too?" I wan't some candy.
Me: "You just had some candy."
Jack: "That was Dini's candy. I want some candy of my own."
Me: "You should have thought of that before you ate her candy. You already ate it, and that's all of the candy you're going to get before dinner."
Jack: Well, I didn't like that candy, so I wan't some different kind. Can I pick out some candy?"
Me: "No. You chose to eat Dini's candy, so there's no more candy before dinner." At this point, Delaney is still crying because her candy got eaten, so I got down another smarties pack and gave it to her.
Jack: "Why does she get MORE candy before dinner, and I don't? I want some."
Karen and I could barely hold our laughter. His brain was working the logic around in tightly wound circles, and we could barely contain ourselves.
Me: "Jack,... she's not getting more candy. I'm giving Dini her first candy, because you ate the candy that was supposed to be hers."
Jack: "It's not fair. I want some too"
I lost it. I had to step outside into the garage to let out my laughter. He honestly believed that he wasn't getting something that Delaney was getting, even though he had already eaten as much candy as she was at that moment eating. I told him that if he ate all of his dinner, that he could have a brownie; but no more until after dinner. That seemed to satisfy him, and brought the Candy Logic issue to an end.
PS: Delaney ended up falling asleep right after eating her candy, and only napped for about an hour. She got back up at around 9 PM, but was convinced to go back to ben when Karen and I started wrapping up the evening. She ended up just fine.