I think Nathan must be going through something like an Opposite Phase. He says exactly the opposite of what he means.
Me: “Nathan, you’re not minding me. Do you want time out?”
Nathan: “Yes!”
Me: “You do? You want time out?”
Nathan: “YES!”
Me: “Fine. Go to time out.”
Nathan: “Yes, Mommy! I sorry! Yes, yes timeout!” (while throwing a temper tantrum and flopping around like a fish-out-of-water on the floor)
Me: “You don’t REALLY want time out, do you? Don’t say yes unless you REALLY want time out.”
Nathan: “Yes.”
Me: “…”
The above conversation is something I deal with every day, multiple times a day. It can really be enough to drive someone crazy, especially when temper tantrums are thrown into the mix. He knows darn good and well what the word “yes” means, so I don’t know why he is using it the wrong way. Unless he’s trying to test me. That is TOTALLY Nathan. He is my little tester… constantly testing his boundaries to see exactly how much he can get away with. Unfortunately, he does not realize that Mommy is not amused (and is, in fact, the OPPOSITE of amused) at his antics.