It really is funny how fast kids catch on to a stupid game. When we're trying to decide who gets to pick the game, book, or movie, it usually comes down to rock paper scissors. Lena has a hard time with it however, and she'll usually stick to only one of the three choices, which puts her at a disadvantage. Last time we had a movie night, I decided to even the odds and use the "toothpick method". The three older kids each had their movie picked out and were all excited about this new non-discriminatory game of lot-drawing. I made sure to ask each of them if they were going to be ok with the results, whatever they might be. They were all agreed - you should have seen the smiles on their faces. When Lena won, and Snow White was the winning movie, two of those smiles mysteriously disappeared. The whining didn't last too long though, because I'd forgotten it was a school night. Maddie and Daniel were pretty upset over the whole thing, not just because they got the short end of the stick, but also because Lena got to stay up and watch her movie.
