Like water dripping from a leaky faucet, a kid's constant nagging can be annoying and almost impossible to ignore, but giving in can have real financial consequences.

What's going on with American parenting that seems to have resulted in a whole generation of parents who have lost the reins?

"No." It's a little word with a lot of influence, especially for parents. Maybe it's because of what happens after we say the word "no" (you know, the screaming and tantrum-throwing) that we skirt around it, try to disguise it and sometimes just don't say it all.

More than once I've made the mistake of assuming that the "I wish..." portion of one of my children's pleas would be followed by something entirely foolish. Shame on me.

I was curious to see what a day would look like if it was driven by what Little Dude wanted, instead of what I would allow.