Little Jake

Little Jake

It all started when little Jake was one month old. He quickly learned

that boisterous wails would cause his grandmother, Betsy, to rush to his

crib. He was well on his way to becoming a little dictator.

Betsy, being a kind-hearted and compassionate woman, felt sorry for the boy

because he had no father or mother to speak of. Betsy would perform on

command every time the child uttered a whimper. Her doctor suggested that

she let the boy cry. He further explained that, in time, the child would

get the hint that no one would be coming at his every whim.

Jake's rein of terror would have ended if his grandmother had taken her

doctor's advice, but she ignored the suggestion. The effect was

predictable: soon, Betsy was suffering from exhaustion.

Is it any surprise that, by the time Jake reached his first birthday, his

first word was "no"? "Jake, please don't throw your toys," his grandmother

would plead sweetly. "No!" was Jake's reply as he hurled a hard plastic

ball at Granny. "Eat your cereal," his Granny would say. With a sweep of

his little hand, Jake knocked the cereal bowl to the floor while he

bellowed another "No!". "All right, Jake," Granny replied, "If you don't

like the cereal, I'll fix you something else." Filled with hope, she

mistakenly thought the boy would outgrow this behavior.

By the time he was five years old, Jake did not hesitate to throw very

public tantrums. He once sprawled out on the department store floor,

kicking and screaming because he had been denied a toy he wanted.

Embarrassed by his behavior, Betsy quickly placed the toy in the shopping

cart and proceeded through the checkout line. When they arrived at home,

Betsy informed Jake that his behavior had been inappropriate. "We don't act

like that in public," she explained. I am certain that the boy was

thinking, "Why not? It works."

When Jake was ten, Granny warned him that if he did not do his homework he

would not be allowed to go camping with his friends the following month.

Jake promised to do his homework, but a phone call from the school

confirmed that he had not turned in a single homework assignment during the