We all know the scene: a mother and child are having a battle in the supermarket over some foodstuff or other. The mother is insisting that her view will prevail. The child is also insisting, hoping to change her mother's mind. Eventually, one or other will win. If the child wins, there will be peace - until next time - but the mother will be left feeling angry, perhaps guilty, and embarrassed by the public battle. If the mother wins, she may still be angry and embarrassed as she tries to cope with the complaining child. Whoever wins there is no happy ending. But why, we might ask, are such scenes so commonplace? What makes a child so desperate for a particular breakfast cereal or a certain brand of yoghurt? The fact is it's a set-up.
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