Taking away something at the moment (other than turning off a tv or sending him to his room) will always escalate the meltdown for mac. It's been a hard thing for me to realize in the moment that I can usually control the turn of his mood by how I react at the first outburst or bad behavior.

Kat, you showed great restraint in not slapping that friend. I've verbal slapped a few childless people in my life when they said similar.

I think that's the name! Margaritas and mole it is. I'll be at the restaurant at 5:30.

See you then!

The other response that I thought would have been great would have been to say, "I know you think you are a parenting expert because your husband acts like a 2 year old, but frankly, it's not the same."

Discipline is more like cleverly outwitting them and removing obstacle to cooperation before they notice them.

I sometimes deal with administrators this way.

"I know you think you are a parenting expert because your husband acts like a 2 year old, but frankly, it's not the same."

Heh heh heh.

"You know at some point your parents will learn how to say No to you"

And, you know, at some point he'll learn to understand words and it might actually matter. Grrrr.

As others have already said - BABY. NOT KID. NO LOGIC CIRCUITS IN BRAIN YET.

I do say "No!!" to Dylan, but not in an expecting-him-to-actually-know-what-the-hell-I'm-talking-about way. More in a "NO! I really wish you weren't trying to eat my glasses right now!" way.

Of COURSE babies are manipulative.

My brother advanced a theory when D was born that their long term helplessness and attendent slow development inot annoying things (as compared with something like a dang bird) is an evolutionary manipulation. That and the cuteness. And the fact they slowly increase in volume. I mean, they are fussy a lot as newborns, but they don't gain earsplitting screeches you wish to flee from in pain (as opposed to exasperation) until later. In the meantime, they are cute and whiney and and fussy and you are inclined to indulge them.

There are holes the size of a planet in this, but what with the stupid hormones and how babies often resemble dad or Churchill, there might be something in there.

THIS SUCKS! I finally found a great hair stylist in the wretched place and he turns out to be more than a little unbalanced. He stopped going to work, lost his shop and was last seen in a drunken stupor.

Aimee's tag:

"We've got separation of powers, checks and balances, and Margaret, vetoing things and sending them back to the Hill!"

I love this scene.

My brother advanced a theory when D was born that their long term helplessness and attendent slow development into annoying things (as compared with something like a dang bird) is an evolutionary manipulation. That and the cuteness.

The cuteness yes (or more precisely that this is what adults find cute), the rest of it's really due to the big brains. Can't let 'em grow too big before they're born or they'd never get out, so there's more development happening on the outside; and thereafter it takes a long time to fill 'em with the useful stuff.

Yeah, but billytea, I think the volume control makes them much more sufferable. Creeps up on you incrementally. (Have you ever heard a 2 or 3 year old screech such that you think your ears are bleeding? Dude, it they hadn't grown on you, you'd totally throw them back!)