It's the end of the day; your kid wants to play wii, you want to watch the olympics, who should "win"?

Question

And I wanted to sit where he was sitting. He's 10, but I'm dad.

What's the right thing to do here? Get demanding?

(I ended up watching tv in the bedroom, while he stayed playing wii in the living room) To clarify; I did play the wii games with him for 20 minutes, prior to suggesting we watch the olympics.

Answer 1

There should not be a power struggle with kids.  You should always win...what will you do when you need your car, and they say no?  Act like a parent and set some boundaries.

Answer 2

Your the parent!

Answer 3

There is no "right" answer because you know the child's needs better than us.  The Olympics have reruns and the wii will always be there.  I think you did right by playing with the child for 20 minutes but do you usually spend more time with him?  Life tends to get away from us and they are grown before you know it.  It sounds like you both got your way with the exception of where you wanted to sit.  Maybe you could have turned this into a history lesson and a bonding session with your child.  Explain what was going on and point out the differences of each competitor, the point system etc.  

My husband always takes the "because I'm the adult" route and the kids aren't very close to him because of it.  Hope this helped..

Answer 4

Your child should always come before your TV shows !!!

Unless you and he are both watching the TV.  Then you are doing something together.  But "this is only," if he/she has a real interest in watching the Olympics.  

No one ever said that being a parent is easy, and yes you will make a lot of sacrifices.  

I personally had to listen to BARNEY for over a year, every morning!  

I was going insane...

Answer 5

At his age I think it would be easier for you to reason with him if you can, rather than get demanding.

Perhaps do some negotiating.  Tell him you'll play with the wii games with him for awhile and then you'd like to watch the Olympics afterwards, and in the living room.  He's your son, and you're his dad, you're not one of his friends.

Otherwise you set a precedent and he will expect you to always give in to him.

Answer 6

The olympics are on for a short period of time, the Wii is always there. Our parents used situations like this to deal with larger moral issues (i.e. sharing, altruism)... when they could be bothered. If they were tired, they just insisted, and threatening, which also works. But how you deal with your kid, and when/how you teach him stuff, is your choice. Different methods work better with different children.

Answer 7

Be an adult and a parent. Sounds like there's a question as to whom is what. You're in for a heap of trouble as he gets older if you can't handle this now. Your house your rules and if he doesn't like it? He learns life doesn't always go his way which is a good thing.

Answer 8

wii is always there. make him stop playing for a while. you bought the wii for him, you can take it away too.