My preschooler knows how to work the system

I'm fairly certain that in many homes the Mom is the person that has to lay down the law and the Dad gets to look like the innocent bystander. Our home is no exception. I mean, my husband will discipline Hayley if he is home alone- but if we are home together then usually he gets the "good" and I get the "bad" and the "ugly".

Case in point- Hayley is on this milk trip. In the past I have had to limit how much milk she was drinking because I did find a direct correlation between too much milk and eczema flare ups. Some of her worst were when she had three or more cups of milk a day- so I really had tried to limit her to only two cups of milk a day (don't worry- she had plenty of other dairy products).

Fortunately she has overcome the eczema- but now she wants milk all day long. While there is nothing wrong with giving her milk (she doesn't drink juice at all) I just don't like giving her fourteen cups of milk at night while tucking her into bed.

See, with both of my kids I have made the mistake of giving them a bottle right at bedtime. Don't lecture me- I know full well the issue it has created. It is now a sleep aid for both of them. Every single night Hayley needs her cup of milk when she gets tucked into bed. If the child would eat more dinner I would really try to lay down the law about the milk thing- but since she doesn't always eat dinner I do feel the need to try and fill her up with a litle something before bed.

The other night she had already had two cups of milk throughout the course of the evening so awhen I was saying goodnight to her and she asked for another cup of milk I said no. I told her she had a cup of water if she needed a little drink.

She turned to my husband, who was laying beside her reading her a story and asked "Can I have a cup of milk?". I was still standing right there so I told her no again. She looked at me, said "I was talking to Dada." Then she looked back at him and said "Dada, can I have a cup of milk?".

He was laughing so hard he had to pull the pillow in front of his face. She knew exactly who would give in. And he did. Because he doesn't like to fight about it and because he feels since she doesn't eat anything that if we don't give her milk she's just going to wake up hungry in four hours anyway.

It just cracks me up that she really does know how to work the system. I'm so scared for what is still to come if she already knows how to do this and she's not yet three.

Comments

[Crys]

Oh man, I would of given the look of death to my fiance if he gave in to something that I said no to. I wouldn't be surprised if she starts going to him first. My dad was like that when I was little. Then he got in trouble, and so his first response to anything I asked him was "Go ask your mother." he he.