Teaching your kid to say “please” and “thank you” is like giving them the key to manipulation mansion.  I have come to realize that all formalities are just a way for you to get what you want while maintaining the reputation of being polite.

“Oh that Toni, she is so well mannered.  She asked ‘may I please have sex with your husband.’  Such a thoughtful girl.”

Things that I would have NEVER let The Munch do before I am now allowing because she said “please.”  Sure kid, go a head and dump your cereal in my boots, and of course you can have 8 granola bars for dinner.  That “please” is just too adorable to deny.

It reminds me of a story of a women named Cia who once house-sitted for my cousin in her co-housing community.  Now keep in mind these are people who believe in community and being neighborly, so they have a propensity of being welcoming… and Cia is the type of person who has flexible boundaries and no problem asking for what she wants.  Is this the perfect set up for a movie of what?

So Cia would ask one of the neighbors if she could use their car for the month and they would let her.  She would go over to another neighbor and ask to eat dinner with them every night and she would.   She would ask to borrow people’s clothes, if she could have some money, if someone would pay her phone bill, and every single request she was granted.  When my cousin came back all her neighbors complained that Cia had been taking advantage of everyone and needed to leave.

My cousin: “What did she do?”

Neighbors: “She kept asking us for things nicely.”

My cousin: “Well why didn’t you just say ‘no?’”

Neighbors: “Because she said ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and was so polite about everything.”

People have a hard time saying no, so even though The Munch is totally taking me for a ride right now, I have high hopes that she will one day grow into an emotional terrorist like Cia and get everything she wants!

“Hey Mama… can I please throw this ball at your face?  Thanks!”