no no

Though my guy is still mostly an easy laid back toddler, he has decided that telling him "no" is the most awful thing ever done.  This particular time was on vacation and he was determined to play with a rusty, metal, heavy umbrella stand.  Said stand could have caused 1 of 2 things. 1) As he was trying to peer into the center he could have scratched his entire face leaving a rusty scratch between his eyes.  or 2) As he lifted up the corner it could have landed on his foot causing him to cry and cry and cry.  That's right, both of those things eventually happened because his determination coupled with his refusal to get into the water and my inability lift and put out of his reach lead to an obsession with this stupid umbrella stand.

Not only does he cry and throw a fit, but my ignoring only makes it worse.  He will cry and cry until I lift and console him.  It lasted about 15 minutes in this case, long enough to go and get the camera in an effort to leave the scene and ignore the behavior.  Needless to say, it didn't work.  He stood in one place and just cried.  This is where he differs from his sister.  She cried because she had to stop the behavior, he seems to cry because I hurt his little feelings, hence the need for consoling.  So, how do you tell a kid no when you know he will feel so sad?  Don't worry, I guess I'm heartless because I still manage.