I was reminded this morning that it’s not that Reid rejects logic, it’s that she has trouble predicting things. We all slept in this morning and so getting ready was a scramble. As Reid was putting her boots on and I was holding her coat, I noticed that her hair was hanging loose about her face. I scooped her up as she decided she wanted to wear slippers instead, over her Daddy’s objections, and she sang her usual “No pony” song; okay, it isn’t a song but “whine” and “complain” are so negative. I don’t argue about the pony tail since the logical thing (in Ken’s mind) is to have Reid’s hair cut. I did let her choose between a pony tail and a braid though and didn’t gripe when she chose a braid and then changed her mind – I’m a model mother, don’t you think?
The logic that we needed for Reid to accept was that you can’t wear slippers outside on a rainy fall day. Ken tried appealing to her deference to authority by telling her “no, you must wear boots” but it turns out that she isn’t deferential. Surprised ;+? He tried appealing to her sense of logic – that she can’t walk outside with slippers on. Since she was concerned with her hair, she didn’t care about going outside. I let her put the slippers on and then waited til she was ready to walk out the door before reminding her that I’d have to carry her (which she hates) unless she puts her boots on. Success! She put them on without fussing but then I committed a grievous error and carried her part way down the sidewalk (remember we were late) and she yelled till I put her down, retraced her steps to the porch, called out “Reid doed it”, and walked to the car. I didn’t save anytime :+)