My children have figured out that if they ask me for permission while I am working odds are, it will be granted. That is something I need to work on. I hadn’t realized how extreme that phenomenon had become until yesterday when I told P.C. he could not do something he was asking for.
His prompt and cheerful reply came back, “No Daddy, you say, ‘Yes.’ Mommy says, ‘No.'” In his mind, I had clearly forgotten my role.
What this funny little anecdote illustrates is what can happen if you are not diligent. Children, at a very early age (P.C. is 3) will figure out how to present their petitions with the optimal chance for success. That skill is a gift (as long as it is not done deceptively or manipulatively). However, it is also requires that you and your bride have frequent conversations about what will be the rules in the home.
Children change. They are supposed to. That is sort of the point of having them in your home. You and your bride need to change the rules regarding what the child is allowed to do and not allowed to do as they change. If you are not communicating together as a couple, then you will end up with a situation where the children will work one parent against the other and you will end up with two different standards.
Seven on Earth 