Taking it to a whole new level...

Please tell me I'm not the only one with kids who excel at the argument.  You know, that one that is so cliche that you can't believe they're doing it?  Yup, That one.  

"No."

"Yes."

(start scowling at each other)

"No!"

"Yes!"

(Start glaring at each other)

"No!"

"Yes!" 

(Nostrils flaring)

"NO!"

"YES!"

(smoke and flames shooting out of various facial holes)

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

"YEEEEEEEEEEES!"

At which point the argument stagnates can be repeated for hours.  I admit I don't know exactly how long they could keep it up because I usually intervene before my head explodes.  

My husband finds these altercations amusing.  So do I.  Well, except for the times when it makes me want to run screaming from the house.  Screaming mature things like, "NO ONE GIVES A FLYING CRAP!! SHUT UP!!"  And I'll tell you right now, if I ever do start running, I'm not stopping until I reach somewhere tropical. 

So this morning we had one of these arguments.  It began like so...

Belle:  Liam is crying.

D: No he's not.

Belle:  Yes he is.

D: No, I can't hear him.

Belle: Yes he is.

D: No, Belle, if he was, we would hear him.  But we can't.  He's not crying.

Belle:  Yes he is.  

(As you can see, my kids have two different approaches to disagreements.  D feels that logic and persuasion are the way to carry his case.  Belle just digs her heels in and repeats, with the exact same inflection, her position ad infinitum until her opponent either gives up or goes insane.)

At this point it resolved itself into the usual argument.

Belle: Yes he is!

D: No he's not!

Belle: Yes he is!

D: No he's not!

... you get the picture.  Pick two opposite opinions and stick to your guns come what may.

And this went on for at least a day and a half.  

But here's where they took it to a new level.  Belle got confused, I think, or maybe she had just gone on autopilot and her mind shut off because this started:

 

D: No he's not!

Belle:  No he's not!

D:  No he's not!
Belle:  No he's not!

D: No he--- WAIT!  Belle, you're supposed to say "Yes he is!"

Belle (pauses and considers this for a moment but decides to stick with stubbornness over logic.): No he's not!

D: Belle!  Say "Yes he is!"

Belle: No he's not!

D: I say that!  NO HE'S NOT!!

Belle: No he's not!
D: BELLE! STOP!  YOU SAY "YES HE IS!"

Belle: No he's not!

D: NO HE'S NOT!

Belle: No he's not!

D: NO HE'S NOT!

Yup, now they have chosen two identical opinions to argue.  D passionately, Belle smugly.

D got a little weepy and begged Belle to go back to her "yes" position.  She continued to blithely chant, "No he's not!" and the argument continued oddly morphed from the original argument, into arguing about who was going to argue which position. 

And I'm going to choose to commend my children for not settling for the status quo, but pushing the boundaries of normal sibling debates and moving more into the realm of intellectual property rights.