My Strong-Willed Child

It's only been about 2 1/2 years late, but I am finally reading "The Strong-Willed child" by James Dobson. It is even more abundantly clear that Hudson is strong-willed. Let me illustrate with a story...

On Tuesday during nap time Hudson discovered that he can lock his door and Mommy can't get in. At first I had no idea he had even locked his door. I could hear him and Naomi (they share a room) laughing and playing. I thought it was sweet so I allowed it to go on for a few minutes. There is a rocking horse in their room, and he uses that to climb up and peek in on Naomi. Now that she can sit herself up, she sits up and peeks over the bumper pad at him. So, then it happens, I hear Hudson fall. I go to their room and discover that I can't get in. He comes and unlocks the door so that I can cuddle him. I try to explain to him that he cannot lock the door. It's not safe, and if he does it again he gets a spanking. Well for those of you who know Hudson, know that the game is on. I leave and before I know it he has locked the door and turned on the light. I tell him through the door that he needs to let Mommy in. No response. Again, "Let Mommy in or you will get a spanking." No response. So, I look around the house for something to unlock the door with. Evidently, they have created better technology since I was a girl. I used to be able to unlock any door with a coat hanger. Not so anymore. After several more attempts I still couldn't get in. So then using my last resort tactics I said, "Hudson, I have a sucker for you. You need to open the door so I can get in." And of course, he immediately comes to the door. Did he get a sucker? no. A spanking? yes. Don't worry, I apologized to Hudson and God for lying. I just didn't know what else to do. Did he try again on Wednesday to lock me out? You bet! Only this time he began losing his privileges like no TV. He soon realized that this was a game he didn't want to play anymore.