How Things Sometimes Go With 8 Year Olds

B's Girl Scout troop recently participated in a Nutcracker Ballet Workshop where they learned a little bit of ballet, a little bit about the Nutcracker production, and a little bit about how ballerinas prepare for a show on the stage. Having done this once before last year, I knew that they would ask for a volunteer to have her hair and makeup done in the fashion of a company ballerina. As I was putting B's hair in a bun for the workshop, and she was writhing and screaming and tears were streaming down her face, I made sure to warn her not to volunteer "because if you think I'm pulling too hard on your hair then you have no idea what it takes to get your hair into a real ballerina bun."

Well, well, well. Didn't she just go and do the exact opposite of what I warned against? And didn't she also contradict everything I said when she smugly said "And it didn't hurt as bad as when you do it."

Maybe I should start warning her against other things like cleaning her room or picking up dog poop.