You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Child: Can I have this?

Me: No.

Child: Ah, perhaps I’ve miscommunicated. I’m asking for it because I want it.

Me: I understood that, actually.

Child: I think maybe you’re not hearing me. I’d like it because I want it.

Me: I’ve heard you quite well, I’m saying that’s not actually an argument.

Child: PERHAPS IF I SAID IT LOUDER.

Me: There’s no problem with my hearing. The problem is that your argument is, as the Romans would say, circulus in probando.

Child: Well then, let me offer this new information: I want it.

At Slate, theater producer Sean Williams has a series of very funny conversations between a parent and child, though this one in particular could be the kind of internal conversation we have with ourselves when we want to buy something that we don’t really need, but are trying to convince ourselves otherwise.

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