My mom babysits for him a lot and she stopped and bought a box of whale shaped crackers before she stopped over at my house. She asked him if he wanted to go get the crackers and share them with his cousins.  They had an agreement when she bought them that he would share them.  He agreed.  Then the trouble started.  He would share no more than 2 at a time and once he had given away 6 he said it was too many.  

When he hit my son in the face over a cracker, Grandma had had enough.  She took the box of crackers from him and said that they had an agreement to share them and he was not holding up his end of the arrangement.  My nephew had an absolute meltdown.  He is a bit on the spoiled side and rarely hears the word no, or at least when his parents say it they don't mean it.

I give Grandma credit.  She stuck to her guns.  He tried every trick he has had success with in the past and nothing worked.  Grandma wasn't giving in.  He screamed, he yelled, he told Grandma that he didn't like her.  He threw himself on the floor and hit his head.  This got him mad.  But none of this phased Grandma.  She told him he looked ridiculous.  She told him he could not have the box back unless he shared.  It was a wonderful show to watch.  It is sad to see a child that is spoiled and can't cope with not getting their way, but it was so great to see him brought back under submission to his Grandma and to be happy and joyous again.

He and Grandma have never had an incident like this one before, but I am certain of one thing, he has a new respect for Grandma's authority and when she says no, he knows she means it.  These are necessary boundaries for children to live happily within.  They need to know who has the final say and that their every happiness is not the main purpose of your day.  If parents and grandparents will say what they mean and mean what they say, the children in their care would be a lot happier.

Of course, if you have not always meant what you said, prepare yourself for this first battle, while your child learns that their is a new boss in town.

At the end of this episode, when my nephew realized he couldn't win, he went to Grandma and said, "I need a hug."  For the rest of the evening he was gladly sharing his crackers and even let his cousins reach their hands into the box.