The Observer Newspapers | The Ultimate Bargaining Chip: TV

August 15 , 2008

The Ultimate Bargaining Chip: TV

My daughter reached a funny conclusion the other day. She told a friend of hers that she believed her mother and I were getting ready to tell her that she couldn't watch TV anymore. She said anytime she wanted to watch TV this week, she was told the Olympics were on, and she apparently felt this was a precurser to us denying her any TV at all in the future.

This was probably compounded by the fact that the parents discovered this week that TV is the ultimate bargaining chip in trying to get our stubborn son to use the toilet and let go of those diapers. After a few days of great attempts, some triumphant successes and some frustrating setbacks, we decided we needed to up the ante.

We told Charlie that he would not be watching TV until he sat on the potty. He refused, and that was fine for the time being. He had no accidents, but refused hour after hour to participate in the program.

When his big sister came home from school she asked to watch some TV before dinner. Her mother said, "Sure, you can watch TV up in Mommy and Daddy's room, and Charlie can stay down here and play."

He questioned his mother, and she reminded him of the rules. The result? The kid undressed himself, sat on the potty, washed his hands and was cleared to watch TV in about five minutes. Now that we're all communicating on the same frequency, Charlie has gotten with the program 100 percent.

My daughter, however, is still a little uncertain about how definite her ability to watch TV is. We are, much to her disinterest, still watching the Olympics.