I can't say that it's a gifted trait or a phase because I don't think it is. However, I do have one child who sometimes wants to palm off certain decisions on me. For the most part except for trivial stuff, I don't allow it given his age. He has also expressed a desire to have all his outfits exactly the same because it's too much trouble to have to match clothes or figure out what to wear. He did go through a stage in first grade where he would appear in the same outfit every Saturday; it took me a while to notice the trend. I think part of it is not wanting to take the time to think about stuff that are unimportant to him. The other part is not wanting to be responsible for making the "wrong" decision.
