The facts of life -- with cats

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2006
The facts of life -- with cats
3
Mon, 09-03-2007 - 9:26am
We have two cats in our house, a boy and a girl. DD (5) regularly tells me that she wants Licorice to have kittens. This begins a frustrating conversation about why we can't have kittens in the house, how Licorice doesn't have kitten making parts and how there's too many kitties in the world withhout good homes. The conversation usually ends in some bad parenting with me saying something akin to "go away until you can find somethig else to talk about." Today she actually started crying about her desire to have kittens.
Obviously the explanation as to the reasons we can't/shouldn't hav kittens isn't working. Are their other ideas as to how I can get this very regular and very annoying conversation to stop?
Avatar for chowderheadmom
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
Mon, 09-03-2007 - 4:19pm

I'm more of a lurker around here, but here's what we have to do with Emily (our Aspie).

There will be no kittens. Period.

I know it sounds simplistic, but we state that it will no longer be discussed and usually she'll back down. (Sometimes not, so I do feel your pain.)

With Em, sometimes the simpler, shorter explanations work a lot better than the "ok, here's why" explanations.

I'm the mom and I said so. *snicker*

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-2006
Mon, 09-03-2007 - 4:38pm

I agree with Kris. It's much easier to understand concrete, short, to the point answers, then to alot of why's. My kids have done the same exact thing with the kittens or the puppies. They will go on for days.... In the beginning I did alot of the explanations to why we can't just like you did, but then realized I was saying too much. Once I made more concrete statements, they eventually backed off.

Lainie

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2007
Mon, 09-03-2007 - 9:17pm
What seems to work at my house, I tell them, "when you get older, and have your own house, you can have as many (fill in blank here) as you want. Until than, NO." Now the boys are all planning for the future, and having fun too.
Carey