The Yellow Team That Has To Wear a Green Jersey

Chay is a stubborn boy. He knows what he wants and he is extremely verbal about what he doesn't. So we have learned that deceiving him into thinking he is getting what he wants works just fine. Bad parenting? Perhaps. Practical? Yes.

For instance...

On our last two trips up to and back from DC, Chay did not want to fly on the plane. Well, back up. He was fine with the idea of the plane...until we were directly outside of it getting ready to walk through the door. At that moment, all four times, he put the brakes on and started yelling, "No! I don't want to fly!!! I don't want to be on an airplane!"

To which we replied, also all four times, "Chay, its not a plane its a bus."

Chay: "Its a bus?"

Us: "Yes."

Shoulder shrug. "OK." And he walks on to his seat and plays his game.

About 20 minutes after take off, we had this conversation (again, on all four airplane rides): "Mommy, this not a bus! This a airplane! Hrrrmph!"

Then he went on and played his game. Can't pull one over on him...

And for our latest example...

For some reason, my children, starting at around age 1 1/2, chose their favorite color and surprisingly, stuck with it. Ray chose her favorite color as purple at 18 months. It still is and she is known as "Purplicious" by her teachers because of the veracity of love for her purple. Chay claims his color is yellow. Well, claims is an understatement. Insists, strongly insists, is more like it.

Chay starts in the Christian Soccer League next week (It actually started last weekend, but we were at Disney, and tomorrow's game was cancelled due to the rain...bummer!). We told him that he is on the Green Team, and that did not go over so well.

He wants to be on the yellow team. I tried to explain to him that he can't be on the yellow team, he is on the green team. Arguments ensued. Screaming and yelling on his part about not being on yellow team went on for a few days. Finally I gave up. I told him that he is now on the Yellow Team but he still has to wear a green jersey.

Fights ended. And he's happy to be on the Yellow Team That Has To Wear a Green Jersey, as he calls it.

And that is the official name of his team now, as far as we are concerned.