A question for those of you who have kids..

Just feckin' say 'no' to your kids. No one is forcing you to give in to their demands.
My old man was great at it!

+1. You're the boss. Yes you really are. It's only materialism anyway.

The point is, he'd have to be even better at it these days, particularly in a developed world country :p

Bring back the twitch beatings I say! Did me no twitch harm!

The problem is that, as a parent, you are continually faced with merchandising of kids characters etc. that drain your funds. You can't go in to Woolworths without being faced with rows of toys and characters drawn from TV and films - and it's a constant battle. Here's another example - I took the kids to Earls Court on Sunday to the Doctor Who exhibition (!?) and paid over £30 to get in. Then you can't get out without passing through a shop selling overpriced tat, designed to appeal directly to kids. There is no other route out of the place - the shop can't be avoided - and you end up arguing with the children and risk ruining the visit. To be honest it's fucking outrageous, and these people should go and make their money elsewhere, rather than preying on parents' reluctance to upset their children. It's verging on the immoral.

Rant over, no offence intended.

I'm not sure how they manage it, but my kids just don't do this. Or rather they ask, but they don't have a total fit if we refuse. However, when we go to exhibitions like that we deliberately factor in some pocket money beforehand, but we let them know how much it will be in advance. If they need more money on the day it comes out of their piggy banks.
In shops they get nowt unl;ess we are going there to buy it for them specifically. We set down the ground rules very ealry and stuck to them. It's paid off now.

However, in other areas they are fucking nightmares! If anyone can suggest a way to get a 4 year old to clean their teeth that doesn't involve as much effort and distress all round as deworming a cat, I'm all ears!!!!!

I like it when litle kids get a taste for toothpaste and start brushing their tongues. Funny.

Will (my six year old) has cleaned his teeth for about two and a half years. I'll ask him later how we convinced him.

Just feckin' say 'no' to your kids. No one is forcing you to give in to their demands.
My old man was great at it!

How old are your kids?

38 and 19

yup, you clearly know what you're on about then

Yep, I do. I learned how to say "no" very early on in my life. I'm what some would consider an expert.

@AlexB - my 2-year-old is pretty random with his toothbrushing behaviour. Some days he's really compliant and enjoys copying our exaggerated 'aaaaaaaaah' and 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeee' sounds so that we can gain access. Other days, yeah it's frothy mouthed writhing cat-worming all the way.

I was at a local SureStart thing recently where they were doing a teeth cleaning awareness thing, and their tips were:

• stand behind the child
  
• hold the toothbrush as you'd hold a pen, to avoid exerting too much pressure
  
• use minimal amount of paste, as it's the brushing that does the cleaning
  
• give up if it becomes a struggle, to avoid negative associations
  
  

Hmmm...

I'm not sure how they manage it, but my kids just don't do this. Or rather they ask, but they don't have a total fit if we refuse. However, when we go to exhibitions like that we deliberately factor in some pocket money beforehand, but we let them know how much it will be in advance. If they need more money on the day it comes out of their piggy banks.
In shops they get nowt unl;ess we are going there to buy it for them specifically. We set down the ground rules very ealry and stuck to them. It's paid off now.

However, in other areas they are fucking nightmares! If anyone can suggest a way to get a 4 year old to clean their teeth that doesn't involve as much effort and distress all round as deworming a cat, I'm all ears!!!!!

+1 to the first bit.

second bit - bribe them with sweets? Oh. try a toothbrush that plays a tune till they're finished? I think persistance & wearing down their resistance is the only way in the end....

"bribe them with sweets" to get them to brush their teeth? Isn't that kinda missing the point? :P

I'm not sure how they manage it, but my kids just don't do this. Or rather they ask, but they don't have a total fit if we refuse. However, when we go to exhibitions like that we deliberately factor in some pocket money beforehand, but we let them know how much it will be in advance. If they need more money on the day it comes out of their piggy banks.
In shops they get nowt unl;ess we are going there to buy it for them specifically. We set down the ground rules very ealry and stuck to them. It's paid off now.

However, in other areas they are fucking nightmares! If anyone can suggest a way to get a 4 year old to clean their teeth that doesn't involve as much effort and distress all round as deworming a cat, I'm all ears!!!!!

Sure it makes sense and that usually works, but however good your kids are and however well you explain, there are always going to be times when it's tough. Which doesn't mean you have to give in, I don't. I just resent the set up and being put in that situation in the first place.

As for teeth brushing - for some reason that's never been a problem with any of mine. We haven't done anything special, other than not buy toothpast with a really strong taste.

I dont have kids but my girlf says im like a little kid so i would say that the . . . . . .

that monkey is so cool!!!

Anyways i would say 6 to 9?

I'm sure I have this in my beastiality collection.

my version appeals to any age group....

3 to 5, mostly girls, but my little lad would happily read them.

They appeal to me, and i'm 20. I saw the word heffalump and tasteful illustrations, that's all i need!

kids suck

kids suck

drugs are better?

you can't punch drugs.

you can't punch drugs.

Or play the tie you up with gaffer tape over your mouth game

Mmm... clearly some of these replies look suspiciously like they're from children