When our five kids were younger, we would often limit their sweets. We were outnumbered and didn’t want them hyped up on sugar.

Telling them they could have 2 cookies was usually met with groans and whining, so we changed our strategy. Instead of ‘just 2 cookies’ they were told they could have ‘up to two cookies’. So they could have two or one or none, it was their decision. It worked surprisingly well.

And now we use this same strategy with our grandchildren, but the limit is often higher, because grandchildren.