My daughter threw a (thankfully, relatively rare) Major Fit last night at bedtime because we were reading her brother’s storybook before hers. The story lineup for the evening was a pleasant book of nursery rhymes followed by the more mature The Velveteen Rabbit. I tried talking her down, but my son and I left her in her room to calm down by herself after she threw her book at me. She goes through quite a few interesting maneuvers when she’s this angry including the bouncy little Dance of Extreme Anger, the Furrowed Brow and Growl of Utter Exasperation, and the Scream and Flop.

It’s difficult to resist. The temptation to just give in and let her have her way is immense. All the while, the phrase “we will not negotiate with terrorists” repeats in my head. Hard as it was, I didn’t give in. She’s intelligent and rational — she’ll learn that these tactics do not work.