Decision Making

There are many times when parents come into the shop to take a look at - for instance - the rabbits, because they are interested in buying one 'for' their child. More often than not, the father will stand to one side whilst the mother takes a look at them all, handles a few, and exclaims how much she likes particular ones. They then usually say something along the lines of:

"Okay, thanks for your help. It is actually a present for our daughter, so I think it would better if we brought her along to choose for herself. We'll come back tomorrow."

And off they go.

They return the following day, child in tow, and go through the process again of looking at all the rabbits and commenting on how cute each one is. Eventually, the time will come to make a decision.

"So, would you like to take one home?"
"Really, mum?!"
"Yes! It's your birthday present."
"Wow! Which one?"
"You choose. It will be your rabbit."
"Oh! I really like the black one. I want that one."

And then the mother will say (and this is rather predictable now, after working in the trade a few years):

"Are you sure you don't like that little brown one?"

And so begins a to-and-fro where, although the child has been told she can choose her own rabbit, the mother actually prefers a different one and does her very best to convince her daughter to change her mind.

"Look at how cute it is... look at that beautiful colour... look at those big eyes... that other one is a bit plain... this one seems so friendly... this one is gorgeous... how about this one?... how about THIS one?... HOW ABOUT THIS ONE?"

The lesson here is: choose the rabbit yourself and don't involve your child if, actually, there's a chance you won't like the decision.