Preschoolers can have strange demands. Sometimes they ask for things to
eat that you are sure no sane person would want to eat, sometimes they
want to go swimming with theirrain-boots on, and sometimes they insist
on wearing the green striped shirt with the orange and gray pants. When
faced with their weird and unusual requests you may find it hard to do
anything other than stare at them in confusion, but sooner or later you will have to decide whether or not you are going to meet their strange demands.
When my preschooler comes up to ask me for something before I
answer I ask myself a question. "Why not?" My first response is usually
to just say no without thinking about it. Of course you can't put
ketchup on your beans! Why not? Well because, because, because...
If
I can't come up with a good reason to say no then I won't turn down the
requests. For me good reasons don't include "because that's how
everyone else does it" or "because it just is". I try to find a real
reason why the request is not safe or inappropriate.
Often what is
wanted is not considered normal by adult standards, and that alone can
make us quick to say no way. But is being not normal enough to make it
wrong? Maybe for an adult, but certainly not to a preschooler. They are
still new to the world of adult standards and bring their own creative
ideas to what is and what should be.
Of course what will be OK for one family might not be for another. Right
now my preschooler is running around the house showing off the mohawk I
gave him. When he begged for one I asked myself "Why not?". I took a
few days to debate it and saw there was no reason why he couldn't have
one, so here he is.
You might have a very good reason why your
preschooler could not get away with a hairstyle like that. No matter
what your initial reaction to a request like that ask yourself "Why
not?". Be sure to explain why to your preschooler if the answer is no,
knowing why will help they understand the world that they live in.
I try to do this, too. I remember when I was growing up, my Mom said no to *everything*... the first time. As I got older, I learned to manipulate this and would ask her, then back down, then ask her again after she'd had time to think on it more. Now that I'm a mom, I try to avoid the first "no" gut reaction and instead say "Let me think about it a bit."
Stages 
Preschoolers can have strange demands. Sometimes they ask for things to
eat that you are sure no sane person would want to eat, sometimes they
want to go swimming with theirrain-boots on, and sometimes they insist
on wearing the green striped shirt with the orange and gray pants. When
faced with their weird and unusual requests you may find it hard to do
anything other than stare at them in confusion, but sooner or later you will have to decide whether or not you are going to meet their strange demands.
