To be constantly saying no to the dc?

[Prarieflower]

Dc 8,8 and & and I'm constantly saying it at the moment.No to

going on their ds(have limited time 3X a week but apparently all other kids can go on their dc whenever they like)
going to the sweetshop(we go once or twice a fortnight)
going on the lap top(see above)
having more biscuits(after school,they have 2or 3)
having school dinners(too expensive)
having a dog(see above)
going to Crealy,Woodlands et al(too expensive and crap imvho)
having crisps in their lunchbox every day
etc,etc,etc


they don't nag about material stuff as such(would love an Xbox or wii but have excepted they won't be happening) and are fab when I say something is too expensive as they drop it immediately but some of the other things I'm starting to feel that all I ever say is no and they can verge on nagging.

Is this normal and how do I stop it?

[MrsTerrysChocolateOrange]

Consistency. Never, ever falter

Could they earn some of it? Days out maybe.

[CailinDana]

If their access to electronics is restricted then do they have plenty of other things to keep them occupied? If you say no about the DS etc are they then bored?

[PurplePidjin]

Could they do chores to earn DS time? 5 minutes for pairing all the family socks, 15 minutes for tidying their rooms, half an hour for hoovering... Make some tokens with the time on and set basic ground rules

Only between 4 and 8pm on school days and not at the dinner table
Refusal to hand it over = 24 hour ban for 1st offence, 48 hours for 2nd, 1 week for third
No more than 2 hours per day at the weekend/holidays between 8am and 8pm only

Extra time can be randomly handed out by you at random eg for not squabbling, good school work etc

Re sweets, give them 50p on the way home from school on Friday and let them loose in the shop. They'll soon learn to get value for money and ration themselves a bit.

Biscuits - give 2 then offer fruit/yoghurt, loads of kids are starving after school.

[ilovetermtime]

I also have this. It drives me mental. As soon as we get in from school it starts; can I have a treat? Can i watch tv? Can i go on the laptop?

I have no answers, I was hoping that all children do it and it's just a phase....

Please, someone, tell me it is!

[ilovetermtime]

Like that idea Purple!