stateless home economy

A 5 year-old wants to watch videos on the computer. An adult doesn't want him to. Expectations collide, power wins. Power pulls the plug, threatens with revocation of future fun the child relies on him to provide, outsmarts the little one any way he can. He gets angry when the boy resists while at the same time insisting that it's for the boy's own good. Well, whether it is or not (it's not), it's surely for power's good. You can tell because he's doing it. Also, he's angry so...c'mon, that's a giveaway, yes? Power only smiles as a tactic, when it's more convenient than force. The fury is there the whole time. Power has expectations and is angered by their non-realization. Whose expectations? Power's. Whose anger? Power's. For whose good? Power's.

So, power gets his way. He's created a world in which the kid doesn't watch videos, for now. The world in which he does has been smashed, for now. Power wins.

But what if the big man puts his weapons down, sets out to avoid bullying? What if he decides that when he wants the little one to do something different, he'll force himself to come up with something interesting. The kid eats too much sugar? Make him something healthy and delicious. Don't know how to? Figure it out or the kid eats sugar. Outcompete the sugar, or lose. As for outcompeting videos, start tickling, make cardboard robot costumes, playforts, etc. If that's too hard, leave the kid to his videos.