I want…..

I have two very young kids aged 4 and 6 do one thing I get to hear at home often is “I want…”. I’ve slowly tried telling them that our home is a home where there is no “I want”. So now our wants have reduced over a period of time.

Initially it was always “I want dosa and not idli”, “I want this doll”, “I want to wear only this dress”, “I want to go to the park NOW”, etc… The list was endless.

Now it has not only reduced, they now have started saying, “Can I have a train toy Amma, instead of the skates I asked last week” Not only have the wants reduced, their negotiation skills and understanding of what is better than what has increased.

In the mean time I am yet to learn how to tackle a 40+ child’s “I want…” tantrum.

“I want you to have this ice cream….” My husband goes… Any amount of telling him that I do not want the ice cream doesn’t help. It is the same with everything “I want you to wear this jewellery…” “I want you to go and talk to that person…”, the list is endless If I stick to what I say he ends up feeling angry in the end. When is he going to understand that want something for himself is different, wanting to force something on others is totally not acceptable? I

With a father like this, when will my children learn about reducing their wants?