It's never ok to lie — but when it comes to kids persuasion is a matter of simple survival

Advocacy is the art of telling the truth in the most compelling manner you can muster.

"Conning" has gotten a bad name (I blame Paul Newman and Robert Redford), but I'm pretty confident (pun intended) the advice in David Borgenicht's and Janes Grace's How to Con Your Kid is ethically sound. The book is more like basic advocacy training for when the judge and jury are under six or so. What, like it's supposed to be a level playing field? Their persuasive skills are unparalleled. These "cons" just begin to give you a fighting chance. It hasn't left my bedside table in two years.