More Chances..

A friend once told me she noticed a pattern with my three older children. She said it took an average of 5 times for them to do something I told them to do. Because by the fifth time I was aggravated and my tone changed. When I got mad they knew I meant business.
The other day Hunter got in trouble for trying to hit Tristan with the door of the pirate ship playhouse out back. Tristan was bent over picking up his spilled marshmallows. I caught Hunter trying to shut the door hard enough to "accidentally" hit Tristan. He did it more than once before I stopped him. He did not succeed, but the fact that he tried really upset me. I put him in time out and told him I was done with him for the day. He got very upset and cried. "But Mom, you didn't give me more chances!" I usually give him a 3 strikes warning. I will tell him he has used all his chances for the day, and the next problem will be it, I'm done. He was so upset that he didn't get "more chances". I told him since he tried to hurt Tristan more than once, he didn't get any more chances, and that wasn't the only problem that day.
Chad & I have been having a "more chances" issue as well. Wether they are 6 or 20, they think there should always be more chances. I wish life worked that way! But it doesn't. You would think after the first 3 kids I would have a handle on this parenting thing. There is irony in the fact that I don't, but I do have "more chances"..