My kid likes to tell me what to do. It's like I'm being chased around by a tiny drill sergeant all morning. She has a program and there can be NO deviation program. Her favorite game right now is "Daddy and Olivia Hide from the Dinosaur." We both, simultaneously, have to run to her bed and hide under the covers, concealing ourselves from a tiny plastic dinosaur that stands by the front door. When the dinosaur fails to attack, we have to get out of bed and check on its status. Repeat. Occasionally I'll make the mistake of trying to mix things up. "Let's hide on the couch" I'll suggest, or "I'll be the dinosaur and come to get you." No, that's not the way it works. We BOTH hide on the BED from the DINOSAUR. That's it!
I don't get on her case about the bossiness too much. I suppose it just comes with being three. Besides, her two biggest role models spend most of their time bossing her around. What do we expect her to do?
Having a nice tea party ("we're having a TEA SET," Olivia will correct me) seems to be a good way to channel all this bossy energy. Something about the protocol and propriety of a tea party makes it the perfect outlet. She can host the party, pour the tea, direct the action. Daddy just has to sit and say "Cheers!"
