Who is parenting who?

Hi all,
I find it quite scary sometimes that my two year old son sometimes sounds like I do when he talks to me. If I do something that he doesn't like or want me to do at that particular moment (such as talk to my wife, or eat), he will firmly tell me not to do it. He does this using the same language and tone of voice that I use when I tell him not to do something that I don't want him to do (such as hit the cat, or throw food on the floor). And why wouldn't he? This is the way he has learned from my example to handle such situations. What to do, besides taking a vacation?
I accept that fact that my son sometimes talks to me the same way I talk to him, because, like I said, he has learned this from me, and being only two, he doesn't know any other way, besides the ways that I teach him.
But listening to him in these situations causes me to pause and reflect on my own handling of situations where I would like him to stop doing something. I often try now to approach such situations with a different tone of voice, and different use of words.
Rather than saying, "Don't do..." I try and say what he should do. For example: "Don't put the cat in the oven" = old me... and, "Try petting the cat nicely while it is lying on the floor" = new me.
I have read in several books that this is the better approach anyways. Children (and adults too) ignore the negating pieces of sentences (i.e. we ignore the "don't"). For example, if I say to you, "Don't think of a pink elephant," the first thing you do is think of a pink elephant. So when we say to our kids, "Don't draw on the walls," you can be sure your walls will very quickly be many shades of red, blue and purple.
The other big question I ask myself is how often I should let my boy get his way. If he asks me not to do something that he doesn't want me to do, and I don't listen to him, why should he listen to me next time I ask him to "Pet the cat only"? He is still too young to understand that he always has to listen to me "because I am the father and I know better" and I don't necessarily have to listen to him.
So, I try and negotiate where I can. Of course, on big ticket items, there is no negotiation. But on small things, I am open to negotiate and sometimes give in to his requests. I think this helps in the long run, because if he feels that I take him and his requests seriously, he is more likely to do the same with me and my requests.
Definitely something to think about, and I am still honing my skills in this area, so if you have any comments on what has and has not worked for you in this space, please leave a comment!

Sign says "Put on Socks!"

Hey all, something amazing happened to me today that I have to share... my almost two and a half year old son said to me randomly in the middle of playing "Sign said 'Put on socks!'" ... what is amazing about that is that he was referring to our outing yesterday at the Granville Island Kid's Market, where he had to put on socks to play in the play area.
At first when I told him he had to put on socks, he outright refused. He absolutely did not want to put on socks, no matter how many times I told him that he had to. Desperate, I showed him the sign that said that all children must be wearing socks, and I told him, "This sign says you have to put on socks to play here." Wow, little did I know the success that this would have... right away, he said, "Sign says 'Put on socks!'" and proceeded to let me put his socks on him without any fuss or muss at all! It was like telling him he should eat chocolate ice cream.
Then today, when he repeated this sentence, it showed that he remembered this whole event and totally accepted it as a given. I am definitely going to keep this little tool in my back pocket... it works better than "Serenity Now!"
It even worked the other day when we were passing a construction site... he wanted to go in, but outside there was a sign that said "Do not Enter" ... despite all my pleading and begging, he kept itching further and further into the entrance. Just as I was about to collapse with exhaustion, I noted to him... "The sign says 'Do Not Enter!'" He immediately backed away from the entrance and repeated "Sign says "Do Not Enter!'" so many times that I almost wished I hadn't said it in the first place. I got almost the same reaction that I normally get when I tell him we are going to buy an M&M cookie.
So that's it... one small sentence for a man, one giant leap for a toddler... try it out, if your child is anything like mine, it just might work for you too!

Until next time, happy napping,
Vincent