My two year old grandson, Jack, loves my Boston Terrier, Betty. In addition to walking her and playing ball, Jack also loves wearing his “doggie” shirt from a store in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. He loves it so much that he wears it every day. This, of course, presents a problem when the shirt needs to be washed. He is willing to take it off at night because he has a special horse pajamas that he wears every night, but that’s another story.
When I was visiting recently, I tried to get him to wear a different shirt. I fooled him for about two minutes when I got him to put on another orange shirt. Then she realized that she had a giraffe instead of her beloved black dog. She promptly took it off and demanded the real thing.
Jack’s parents wisely decided not to bargain with Jack over his favorite shirt. They just bought four more orange dog shirts so he always has a spare. I agree with that approach.
I was thinking about the rules of negotiations. However, there are certain situations where it just isn’t worth trying to change someone’s mind and this is one of them. Why not let Jack wear the “doggie” shirt if he wants to? It’s kind of touching to see someone so passionate about his shirt. It’s kind of like Linus and his blanket.
So how do you negotiate with a two year old? Sometimes the best thing is not to negotiate anything and let him wear what he wants.
Now, if you’re still wearing this shirt in college, you may have to step in.
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