For the Child Who Sneaks the Tablet

Four lines you can say out loud tonight. Word for word. Free to save.

What to say

1. The tablet lives on the kitchen counter now, not in your room.

2. Taking it quiet feels safer than asking me out loud.

3. When you want it, you ask me and I answer yes or no out loud.

4. If I find it in your room again, it sleeps in my drawer for two nights.

When to use it

This is for the moment it actually goes wrong — not the calm version you rehearse in the car. Pick one line. Say it once. Then stop talking and wait three seconds. If they push back, repeat the same line, not a new one. Say the same thing for five nights before you decide it doesn't work.