Kid wants something from mother they know won’t be easy to get. The first argument they make is almost always, “Everybody else is going to that concert!”/ “All my friends have this body part pierced!”/ “Everyone at my school is wearing one!” or something similar.
The first rebuttal the mother makes in defense will inevitably be, “So, if the whole world/ your whole school/ all your friends were going to jump off a bridge, would you jump, too?”
The response will most likely be one of three, in increasing order of frequency:
“No… but this is different!”
“That’s not the point!”
“Duh! Of course!”
Variations occur where the players are not parents and children, but the pattern is always the same. “Cliff” may also be substituted for “bridge.” Another variation is “If X told you to jump off a cliff, would you?” or “If all your friends stuck their heads in the oven, would you do it?”
Kid wants something from mother they know won’t be easy to get. The first argument they make is almost always, “Everybody else is going to that concert!”/ “All my friends have this body part pierced!”/ “Everyone at my school is wearing one!” or something similar.
The first rebuttal the mother makes in defense will inevitably be, “So, if the whole world/ your whole school/ all your friends were going to jump off a bridge, would you jump, too?”
The response will most likely be one of three, in increasing order of frequency:
“No… but this is different!”
“That’s not the point!”
“Duh! Of course!”
Variations occur where the players are not parents and children, but the pattern is always the same. “Cliff” may also be substituted for “bridge.” Another variation is “If X told you to jump off a cliff, would you?” or “If all your friends stuck their heads in the oven, would you do it?”