Article Link: http://stage.exchangepress.com/article/more-than-lip-service/5018078/
“Jacob, come here and put on your jacket. Your mom will be here any minute.”“But I do not want it. I am hot.”
“Hot or cold, Jacob, Mama does not like it if you are not wearing this jacket.”
This dialogue occurred every afternoon around 4:45.
Jacob’s mother, Lisa, had told us that when Jacob is playing outside he needs to wear his jacket. Sometimes the weather would be warm, and Jacob, as active as he is, complained about being hot. But we still had to put the jacket on. We all agreed that Lisa’s demand was unreasonable and if the weather was warm we would not put the jacket on. But at the same time we did not want Lisa to get upset.
We had a problem but then we also had a solution: Put the jacket on at 4:45. Jacob’s pick up time was 5 p.m. and Lisa was always on time. So we let him run around till 4:45 and then forced the jacket on him. It worked. Lisa was happy to see the jacket on. We did not feel guilty about forcing him to wear jacket in warm weather. It was a win-win situation until one day… ...