John was a little, um, difficult tonight at dinner. No sooner had we started eating than he started saying "Snaps off!", his direct manner of telling us that he wants out of his booster seat. So we decided to work on him saying "May I be excused?" instead.
Let's just say that he knew a good fight when he saw one. He alternated crying, playing peek-a-boo, laughing, and then just out and out ignoring us. So we decided to dig in -- we weren't giving up.
Tactic #1 -- Repetition
"John, you need to say 'May I be excused?'"
"Snaps off."
"May I be excused?"
"Snaps off."
"May I be excused?
"Snaps .... OFF!!!!"
Tactic #2 -- Simplify
"OK, John, just say 'Excuse me, please."
"Lucy eating turkey."
"Excuse me, please."
"Lucy turkey in mouth."
"Excuse me, please."
"Excuse me Daddy's chair."
Tactic #3 -- Switcheroo
"John, can you say 'Gig Em'?"
"Gig Em."
"Can you say Franklin?"
"Franklin."
"Can you say 'Excuse Me'?"
"Frank....LIN!"
Tactic #4 -- Bribery
"John, if you say 'Excuse me', you can have a cookie."
"Cookie, cookie, cookie, cookie, cookie."
It took about 25 minutes, with him mimicking and repeating everything we did and said except for the magic words, but he finally blurted out "Excuse me please" and escaped the confines of his booster seat.
I really don't know where he gets it.
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