The Great Negotiator, chapter 2

We have more proof yet that my son is an attorney in waiting. And a potentially Machiavellian one at that.

Recently, he tried to argue his case for sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed. I had allowed him to do this one night when he had bronchitis, but that was a rare treat for a sick child and I had no intention of making this a permanent habit.

My son thought otherwise.

At bedtime, he whined and cried and demanded to go to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed. I held firm to my refusal, though he cried for what seemed like forever.

Sobbing aside, he tried a sweeter approach. "Pwease, may I sweep in your bed, pwease?" Maybe he thought that saying please twice would gain extra points. But no go.

Then the negotiations began.

Maybe we can move my bed.
Move it where?
To your bedroom.
But there's no room there.
Yes there is. We can put it next to your spot.
But there's already my night stand there
We can move that.
No, we can't
How 'bout next to Daddy's spot?
No, we have furniture there too
But you don't need that.
Yes, we do.

Seeing that Mommy was not giving in, he moved to Plan B, my redheaded husband, to retry all the maneuvers.
Again, his mission failed, but he won a little compromise from Daddy, who agreed to let fall asleep in our bed, only to be to transfered to his own room in the middle of the night.

The boy pondered it and saw the compromise had potential. He played along.

A moment later, he was settled in the middle of the queen sized bed, pointed out to me, "This is a good space for me."

Then he glanced around the room, trying to discuss a furniture move again.

Surprisingly, all these negotiations didn't wear him out, though I was fading fast. He lay wide awake in my bed and found he couldn't fall asleep. So he saw the futility of the whole ordeal and agreed to go back to his bed.

In the end, I may have won, but if this is what he's capable of at 4 years of age, I'd hate to be at the other end of the bargaining table after he gets his law degree. Or his MBA.