"You May Have A Fish."

Takeguchi Sensei is good at Aikido.  Not only does he apply his Aikido in daily life, but he also applies it in parenting.

When his daughter was little, after visiting a friend who had a puppy, she came home wanting a dog.

"Daddy, I want a dog," she pleaded.
"I do not want a dog," Sensei responded.
"No, Daddy, I didn't say you want a dog.  I said I want a dog."
"You are right: I do not want a dog."
"You may not want a dog, but I want a dog, Daddy."
"It's true.  I really do not want a dog."
"Daddy, I want a dog.  Let's have a dog.  My friend has a dog.  We should have one, too."
"Your friend has a dog does not mean we should have a dog."
"You don't have to want a dog.  The dog is for me.  It's going to be my dog.  Daddy, please!  Please give me a dog!"

The pleading kept going on for a while.  And then . . .

"Know what?  You may have a fish." Sensei said.
"What?  Fish?  I don't want a fish.  I asked for a dog, not a fish."
"But, I can buy you a fish.  Do you want a fish?"
"A fish is not a dog, Daddy . . ."
"If you want, you may have a fish.  If the fish lives, we can talk about a dog.  So, do you want a fish or not?"
In desperation, his young daughter agreed, "Okay, I will take the fish."

As Sensei predicted, it did not take long before they flushed the dead fish down the toilet.

He does not have to talk to his daughter about having a dog ever again.