The hardest part of parenting I have found is suffering in the short term to enforce the vision of the long term. Years and years of avoiding hitting the easy button, enforcing the rules, squeezing consistency from my tired brain. Their developing brains are insanely good pattern matchers and that reward chasing hits harder than you can possibly imagine. 3-4 year olds can feel your mental weak spots and will constantly see if different whining at different times or perhaps epic resistance at strategic moments can yield the outcome they want. It's like a super powered adversarial model but cuter.
The payoff of consistency is worth it. It buys you a sustainable pattern, which is golden.
The payoff of consistency is worth it. It buys you a sustainable pattern, which is golden.