No. But then, DS isn't me in miniature: my "ideal" parent I was going to be was based on parenting my needs, not someone else's!

So we don't sit and have reading hour. Reading minute, yes. But not much longer than that. I allow my son to put on make-up... something I was adamant that my child would never do before senior school! A trip out isn't to a museum or art gallery or even a park... it's to the local station to watch the trains. We watch TV and chat about our favourite programmes - even to the point of using "wotty wotty wot" as a conversation starter.

BUT, I do treat DS as a human and get the same treatment back. I accept it when he tells me that I'm not being nice (eg yesterday, when I was having a whinge about someone). I answer all his "why?" questions (they've dried up now) and make sure he has an explanation for any answer he doesn't like (eg no I can't read a book, I'm driving). I laugh off mistakes and get apologies for naughtiness. We do chores TOGETHER and have fun, not DS having to wait for me to finish what I'm doing so he can play. I don't leave him to cry (unless he's tantruming that I won't play with a boy who hits me) and I don't hurt him.

We have a child-focussed relationship: he provides the ideas and I provide the boundaries. He has a bedtime, but he picks the bedtime story. He wants to climb, I direct him away from the Christmas tree and towards the sofa. He wants to come shopping, I make sure he helps me find the food, put it in the trolley, load it onto the conveyer belt and put it in the shopping bag.

It's great, I get my own way 95% of the time and DS doesn't realise he's not "having fun".