Lessons in negotiating from a seven-year-old

        Wednesday Joey, Katie, Jackson, the Fifes, and I took a break from the beach house to go to Legoland in Carlsbad. After Joey and Katie left with Jackson a little earlier in the day, we thought it would be fun for the kids if we split up; Audra and Bella went with Rich to the Aquarium, and Evan stayed with Carly and me to do some more grown-up rides. While Evan was still a bit childish about his choice of rides, I watched him negotiate with his mom like an adult. Here are some pointers based on my observations:

• Never agree to a deal unless your end is equal to or greater than the opposing end 
• If you really want someone to do something for you, make them think it's their idea, and that they are getting the better end of the deal
• Never give up
• A whiny voice is less effective than a calm one of reason

        After refusing to ride two different rollercoasters (riding Space Mountain at a tender age seems to have indefinitely scared him away from all rollercoasters), Evan agreed to wait in line for a Lego horse ride made for children ages 3-12. Whining and negotiating ensued from the very beginning (imagine a voice similar to that of Napoleon Dynamite, but with twice as much feeling):

Evan: "Mo-om, can we go home now?"

Carly: "It's only 3:00. Don't you want to stay?"

Evan: "This is boring. I'm tired. Can I play my 10 minutes on your phone now instead of later? We're just standing in line."

Carly: "No, my battery is dying and I need to conserve it."

Evan: "Ugh. It's just 10 minutes, and if you let me play it now then you can use it later."

Carly: [no answer]

Evan: "That's actually a really good idea for you. Then you won't have to worry about me using it later, and you can just use it. It's actually the best option for you, really. I really suggest you do that."

Carly: "Fine, you can play five minutes now, and the other five later."

Evan: "Yes!!"

 . . .

After his five minutes were over, the debate about going home continued:

Evan: "When are we going home? Can we go home soon? I'm tired."

Carly: "Aren't you having fun? Look, we're almost to the front of the line."

Evan: "But isn't the main reason we came [to the beach house] to see family? We're not even with family right now. I miss Granny and Grandpa."

Carly: "Abby's here. And Joey and Katie were here with Jackson earlier. We're spending the whole week with Granny and Grandpa."

Evan: "I just want to be with Granny and Grandpa right now. Can't we go back to the beach house and see them?"

Carly: "What would you do right now, if we were at the beach house?"

Evan: "Play Uno. The number one thing I want to do right now is just play Uno."

        And when we decided to stay at Legoland instead of go home, Evan sat on the ground and refused to be comforted.

        Fortunately, a wise mother was very patient through the "hot and tired" phase of the day. Once Rich and the girls came back, Evan was again a happy camper. By the end of the day he was saying Legoland was even better than Disneyland, and that what he meant was that Uno was actually the number two thing he wanted to do--after Legoland :)