Parenting technique gone awry

On the way there (coat on).

Okay. So, I've been trying my best not to be a dictator and to allow Abby to suffer the consequences of her own choice when she's choosing to be defiant. Let's face it: the kid isn't going to listen once she has her mind made up.

Case in point: Today we went to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum. We were getting ready to leave and I told Abby it was time to put on her coat.

"NO!"

It was about 40 degrees and windy outside.

"Are you sure? It's really cold."

"NO JACKET! NO!"

Okay fine.

I made up my mind that she would go outside without a coat and - once she determined she was cold and that it was a silly decision to defy me - she would ask me to put it on and a good lesson would be learned.

So Tom, Abby, Jack and I walked outside, the kids in the stroller.

I waited.

Nothing.

We walked a block toward the parking structure. Wind howling.

Nothing.

I looked at Tom with my eyebrows raised and finally mouthed, "Has she said anything?"

He shook his head.

We continued to the structure and not a peep from Abby. People walked by us with a look on their faces I would probably give other parents whose child wasn't wearing a coat in 40-degree weather.

We ended up making it all the way to the car and she never even mentioned being cold.

The little stinker.

Conclusion: Abby is either the smartest and most manipulative child in the history of the world ... or she is cold-blooded.