“‘Why can’t you be more like your sibling?’”
Heaven forfend!
We love them. They’re nurses and pilots and so forth. Parents do well to guide the creative ones into safety, character judgement, moral compass and then let them go.
The kid, who at 4 years old says he doesn’t want to have a play date with your friend’s kid because he doesn’t like him, if you do what he asks and cancel, not only do you get a deal maker who’ll do the same for you, but is often the kid who, at 19, will say, nah, I don’t want to go out and get wasted at a stupid frat party I’m kinda doing well in class right now, because he’s not in school for his pre Rs. He’s in there for himself and isn’t passive aggressive about it.