"Thank you"... and not the Dido song either

So, the little one is starting to understand the power of verbal communication. By power of verbal communication I mean saying something so that he can get his way, and by saying something I mean the phrase “Thank You.”

Is it at age 2 that kids begin to really realize they can actively manipulate adults? I know that they do manipulative behaviors prior to age 2, but are those conscious “I want to change how things are going” activities, or are they merely “I want what I want now and not later” activities? I think the question of when manipulation becomes a conscious choice to alter outcomes will never really be answered until our minds are able to read people’s thoughts like squids can. What? You didn’t know that squids can read people’s minds? Surely that is why people eat calamari… it cannot be for the taste… it has to be from the attempt to steal squid mental abilities through consuming squid parts… has to.

Ummm… Anyway…. Within the past 3 weeks little man has realized the power of the words “thank you.” This particular phrase has gotten more response than anything else that he has said. In the least we respond with “You’re welcome.”

Thank you
You’re welcome
Thank you
You’re welcome
Thank you
You’re welcome
Thank you
You’re welcome
Thank you
No, thank you.
Thank you
No, thank you.
Thank you
No, thank you.


That is a typical 10 second conversation that we have with little man. When he does something he knows he is not supposed to, he will smile at us and say “Thank you.” How can a parent be angry at such a polite child? It is his last ditch effort, his trump card, or his (and this is for you first person shooter types) BFG. He only uses it as a weapon when “Uh Oh” or “Boom” does not work. If he really has to get out of trouble, he will grab you, kiss you, and say “Thank you!” again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It particularly works well with his grandma.

To recap:
“Thank you” is a powerful tool, when he learns “I’m sorry” we are going to be in trouble
By “we” I mean the human race.
The plumber from yesterday’s post somehow crawled out of our building to die.
He also had the absolutely worst tattoo I have ever seen on his leg. The thing looked like an untalented 7th grader drew it. Some Conan-ish barbarian with a battle axe and helmet with red pants and a green helmet. Green helmet?!?!
The squids already know that, so stop obsessing.
Damn you! You, chewy legged mind flayers!!!!