I just watched my husband spend an entire hour Wii bowling so his daughter could have the sparkly ball.
On the surface you may think “So what?” But this man was just worked over by a five-year old with long eyelashes and an adoring smile.
*crying* Daddy, Jack has the blue sparkly ball and I really want the blue sparkly ball but I can’t get it *sobbing heaves*
It’s the perfect set up. I know it well. She tells him her sorrows. Her horrible, heart wrenching troubles.
*crying* Daddy the blue sparkly ball is so pretty *pauses to sob harder* and I really, really want it but I’ll never get it. Never *more crying*
Then, she moves in for the kill-
*crying* Daddy will you please play my guy so I can get the blue sparkly ball because I really, really, want it *covers faces and heaves for dramatic effect*
And not three minutes later, after a full three minutes of me telling her if she wanted to work hard for the blue sparkly ball I’m sure she could earn it, just like her brother did … her father waltzes into the room.
Baby girl do you want Daddy to get that blue sparkly ball for you?
Head. Desk.
And this is why the gentler sex will always be superior… Ahem.
.-= JustLinda´s last blog ..I make this Good Wife stuff look easy! =-.
That heaving and crying and heart-wrenching troubles and … yeah. Works at that age. Works at my Daughter’s age (3). Works at almost any age. Girls/women are programed with it. But equally as important, we men are programed FOR it. It works not because she’s *good* at it, per se, but because we men are somehow wired to buy it. Buy it? Yes, we buy it. Do you take plastic, check, or just cash? Fine, take all three.
(Oddly, as I was reading this entry, MY wife was reading an article about how women control $0.82 of every $1.00 in the household. So while women may make $0.72 for every $1.00 a man makes, we only end up with $0.18 of that dollar ANYWAY. )
.-= Davidgs´s last blog ..Michele Bachmann Said WHAT! =-.
That mischevious smile, the devil may care…you don’t pull such mannerisms out of the air.
.-= EmmieJ´s last blog ..My Front Porch Looking In =-.
The 18 month old girl twin has already started this, her twin brother just stares at her and then gives her anything she wants.
It is not taught, it is inherent.
Sigh.
.-= Adrienne´s last blog ..Let the Good Times Roll! =-.
One of my favorite stats … and well used over at BlogHer
It’s absolutely DNA…but I’d like to think the style comes from Mom
That’s not true at all. At no point did I tell her she could earn it herself. I didn’t and I wouldn’t. Know why? Because girls suck at sports.
.-= the kaiser´s last blog ..Thompson leads Sparks over Shock =-.
oh my; I’m reminded of so many times when I appealed to my own father for whatever my version of the blue sparkly ball was at the time.
.-= sarah´s last blog ..The Accidental Tourist =-.
Hardy Har har. Jerkwad.
Just give in now and leave ME to punishing and raising the girl child. You are a lost cause.
My grand daughter does the same thing to me, she is five and I swear her mother, my baby girl, with similar habits as a child, taught her to do the same exact thing, sigh, cry, sob, hide face in shoulder for dramatic effect, then pout like her puppy just got run over. Works every time, and I am old enough to even know she is doing it, she just does it so well my mind goes blank and the only goal in the universe is to do whatever she wishes. It is a blessing every time, when the tears are instantly gone and the smile beams followed by “Pop I love you sooooo much, you are the best pirate I have ever known…”
great posting
glad your recovery is underway
peace and light
Michael Sykes, (@sbafarms)
.-= Michael Sykes´s last blog ..admin likes Laras activity =-.
Irritating if it’s YOUR child and spouse. Adorable if you’re just reading about it from a distance 🙂
.-= MFA Mama´s last blog ..infectimundo =-.
Classic. Yesterday at the river, I watched an adorable 5 year old wrap her daddy around her little finger while wearing a purple polka-dot swimsuit with a flouncy skirt and a pink blow up swimming ring. In between sips of Squirt soda and chips she begged with hands on hips, “Daddy! Daddy! You have to take me to Blackberry island!” (50 feet across the calm river, where wild blackberries grow.) he said maybe. Then he said later, then of course he did. Happily!
.-= juliejulie´s last blog ..Ten Lazy Reasons Not to Go Running =-.
This is why I’m happy to have a boy I can always say no to.
And yes, I totally just jinxed myself…
I Lovvvvve this picture.
I’m thinking Hala needs a “I’ll Always Be a Daddy’s Girl” tshirt.
… and, of course, Yay Aaron for being such an awesome daddy!
.-= Sprite´s last blog ..I Wondered =-.
It amazes me quite often the things that my little girl gets away with that my boys don’t or never did (or will for that matter) when it comes to her daddy. Of course the boys are well aware that she has daddy snowed…..and for the most part she has them snowed as well.
<3 the picture.
.-= Kel´s last blog ..I Am Tired…Part 4 =-.
I just showed this posting with my daughter that I mentioned in an earlier comment, She cried like a baby, told me it was incredible to see the comments from so many parents relating similar stories, made her realize how common the parenting experience can be. She spoke of her own daughter’s ability to do the same thing to her and how she enjoyed watching her daughter “wrap me around her little finger at will”. I do believe she is realizing the connection mothers have and the value of sharing these experiences. Thank you Erin. It was almost a Kodak Moment for a minute there. Brought us closer and for that blessing I am grateful. Peace and light,
.-= Michael Sykes´s last blog ..admin commented on the blog post Local Band Listings from SE Texas =-.
Michael, Thank YOU. That shared connection is why we blog and share our parenting trials and tribulations.
xoxoxox
I watched a similar playing last night as our 3 daughters talked their dad into a post-dinner game of duck duck goose. The told him he didn’t have to be the goose, that he could just be a quiet duck and that the rainy, wet grass wouldn’t bother him *waving hands as if to negate that it had even rain, “You won’t feel it at all, duck, not at all.”
He was out there for 30 minutes. Sitting. Wet. Grinning.
Swoon.
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..Fix You =-.
Not educational perhaps, but so sweet!
My toddler manages on a daily basis to work over her brothers and her daddy. I’m kind of scared to see what the teen years will look like. Ha!
.-= Summer´s last blog ..Unsocialized – A Homeschoolers Deliberate Choice to Not Get Socialized =-.
aside from assigning a gender to the parent, the same thing happens in our house, the parent who spends more time with teh children providing the tresile of structure that they grow on, also is willing to invest the three minutes encouraging the child to do it themselves. The parent which severs more time outside the home, away from the children, will frequently swoop in to score the big points by a grand display of generousity.
we just have the roles reversed here.
.-= Nathan Eckenrode´s last blog ..Return of the Dutch Boys and more… =-.
Sounds like she worked hard for it to me!
Beautiful picture, btw.
There will be other things over time that she has to work for and that Dad will insist that she work for. There is also some value early on to learning that she can depend on Dad to come through, even if for the wrong reason.
Huh. My husband got the blue sparkly ball the first time for our girlchild too.
It’s one of those Daddy-Daughter things in the modern world, huh? 😉
.-= Lucretia Pruitt´s last blog ..You’re Doing It Right – vol 2 =-.
LOL, Hala is a little firecracker, she’ll no doubt be running the country by the time she’s 15, hell she’s already got Daddy owned! 🙂
Go Team Hala !
.-= Jean´s last blog ..Windows Live Essentials Beta test update =-.