false

Hannah Eli and I were watching tv tonight, passing time before the ball game, and Eddie wanted to go outside. We rigged up a bell system for him, so he can ring when he wants to go out. The only problem being that he is still a puppy, so he rings the stinking thing all the time. We will bring him in and the bell is ringing within a minute. But you don't dare ignore him either, then you get dukes on the floor. So we let him out when he rings, and put the bell on the shelf when he has been out enough for one night.
So he rang the bell and I asked Eli to let him out. Know what I got? "No."
"What did you say?"
"No, he was just out a minute ago, I'm not letting him out again."
Here, gentle readers is what we call a situation.
"Let me re-phrase, go let the dog out."
"No." (should have seen his face--pure defiance)
Oh boy.
Now I get that Eddie is over-using the bell. I also get that when an adolescent tells me no with that look on his face, he is drawing a line in the sand. Because it's not about the dog now. I asked him to do something, and whether or not he sees it as a useful endeavor, the point is that I asked him to do something.
"Eli, let the dog out." (gave him a face of my own--I believe it is known as "the look")
I'll leave the rest to your imagination, but the dog went out.
Eli is just asserting himself as a soon-to-be-teen, and I know that we will have some more tugs-o-war, but he will learn that if he wants to negotiate, "no" is not the way to start.

Kristi (borrowed) Rule # 20
Children obey your parents.

I was going to do the South Park thing and say "YOU WILL SUHBMIT TO MY AUTHORATAH!" But then you would think that I actually watch that show...