Bargaining

I have concluded that the best way to get Desi to do what I ask is to bargain for it.  If you do A, you can have or do B.

Example...every morning when he wakes up, I ask him, "Do you need to go potty?"

I know very well that the answer is Yes.  But, Desi almost always responds with a grouchy, "NO Potty!" and then proceeds to pee in his new diaper.

Well, the other day, I had an idea.

"Desi...do you need to go potty?"

"NO potty, Daddy!  Watch Elmo."

*ding*

"Desi...if you go potty I will let you watch one Elmo clip.  How does that sound?"

*silence and contemplation...*

"Go potty."

At which point, we proceed to the potty and have a dry diaper for the rest of the morning.

Of course, I have to follow through and then let him watch some Elmo (or Cookie Monster or Telly or some other Sesame Street character), but it works out. 

We have been trying this with dinner, lately.  But dinner is a little more tricky.

"Cookie!"

"Desi...if you eat X more bites, you can have a cookie."

Of course...he will then proceed to take the smallest bites possible.  I think I will have to rephrase to, "Desi...if you eat X more bites of X in circumference, you can have a cookie."