joanna

Sannah no longer feels she should be responsible for brushing her teeth. She threw a fit the other night when asked to do so. She put up quite an anrgument, until I finally started counting. Then she furiously stomped off to the restroom.

After she had been in the bathroom for longer than it should take, I went in to check on her. She was sitting on the toilet lid, teeth unbrushed. She decided she wanted me to brush her teeth (which I do occasionally, usually after she has already brushed them.) After the attitude she had just thrown, that was not an option.

"I just want you to brush them for me, and you won't. How do you think that makes me feel, MOTHER?"

I told her they are her teeth and she is responsible for brushing them.

At this point, I could tell it was no longer about who was going to brush her teeth. It was about winning. And since brushing her teeth is non-negotiable, I decided she wasn't going to win. When she realized this, she made her power play. Where it came from I have NO idea...

"You make me so angry that I already hit myself TWO times!"

Susannah, why are you hitting yourself (said in my calmest voice, though the look on her face had me on the verge of hysteria.)

"Because you're my mommy, so I can't hit you."

(She brushed her own teeth.)