Pick Your Battles... And Win Them!

Today I was VICTORIOUS in a power struggle with Ava, & power struggle is an understatement... it was more like a standoff! Now, Ava is a pretty decent child & these types of things don't happen often, but like any 3-year-old, she does feel the need to exercise or try to gain control wherever she can! Today was one such instance & I decided that this event was definitely blog-worthy! Here's how it all went down:

We came home, & with my hands full I went to the house. Ava (for some reason) wanted me to open the door for her, but she wasn't coming so I proceeded into the house, letting the screen door close behind me. To the door runs a screaming, crying Ava begging me to open the door for her, although not very nicely. Obviously I calmly told her that she was capable of opening the door on her own, & was welcome to come in whenever she was ready to do so. It wasn't terribly cold outside so she wouldn't freeze, she was dressed warmly & I had some time. They say "pick your battles" & it seemed most things were in my favor, so this was a battle I was willing to pick! Screaming & crying continued @ the door with intermittent pleas such as the following:

~ "I just want you to open the door for me today & I promise I'll do it tomorrow"
~ "Look, I stopped crying - will you please open the door for me"
~ "If you come open the door for me then I'll do something nice for you"
~ "If you open the door for me then I will come in & go pee"
~ At one point she even opened the door about halfway to poke her head in & ask me to open the door for her! (At which I smiled & made a joke about her opening the door... then the door was slammed & Ava was still outside! This made me laugh!)

All the while this was going on, I was inside the warm house wandering around getting things done (where she could see me, of course!) Luckily, patience was on my side & I was ready for battle so I tossed out a few of my own rebuttals!

~ "I hope you're not getting too cold out there"
~ "We have another door if you think you might be able to get that one open... feel free to try it"
~ You must be tricking me - I'm pretty sure I've seen you open that door before"

The time ticked on & Ava stayed @ the door for a good 30 minutes until she finally gave in! Ava would never actually "give in," so it was more along the lines of "changing the subject to save face!" But it still meant that I won (not ever having touched the door), and Ava ended up inside the house (which was the goal in the first place)! She stopped crying, put on a smile, opened the door & said she needed me to help her find her blanket. I said, "I would love to help you find your blanket when you come in." And in she came, backpack & all! We hunted for the blanket, wrapped her in it & not another word was said about the whole ordeal (except for the "wahoos" in my thoughts)!

Thanks to Love & Logic I pulled it off, laughing along the way & didn't even get mad! If only it were this easy all the time! :)