And the reason why she accepts these exceptions is trust. Because we go out of our way to explain our rules to her, we have built up her trust in us as authority figures.
It all sounds really appealing Dude, and is exactly the way I remember wishing I could have been raised, but I don't believe that children become more trustful from explainations, but from actions. So much depends on personality, but seriously - if your daughter ever 'talked back' to you and said 'That ISNT an answer!' or 'That isn't FAIR, you get to eat in the living room, WHY don't I?' wouldn't you start to feel that something wasn't working?
In the long run we have to figure out how to parent the kid we have, not the kid we think have. And just when we think we have them figured out - there they go changing again!
Smiles,
Grinity
