Originally Posted by
Not Quite Right Props to Sean for using this rare thing called Common Sense !
I don't have kids, but what I observe is a trend of trying to be a kid's "friend" vs. "parent"...I see it with my own nephews and niece. They screw up, do something they've been instructed not to (or know not to do), and then in an effort to maintain some kind of "friendship", parents so often dance around an issue to make it fair.
I personally find it pretty hilarious. In the end, why are there negotiations? I've never understood it, and I grew up in a house with 5 kids and myself. My mom never spared the rod, nor did she allow for negotiations when it came to punishments. I base my advice or suggestions on what I know she would do if there were such things around when we were kids...when I was young, AIM was a really popular thing...you know what would happen if she found inappropriate messages on AIM? She'd lock the computer down from me until she was ready for me to use it.