I really believe one of the best skills I ever conditioned into the kids is their willingness to say no to me. As in, if you can say no to your unfailingly charming mother begging you to watch an obviously deeply intellectual shark movie ("It's in FRENCH! The shark will probably wear a beret and quote Sartre"), if you can handle her crushed, broken heart, then I feel like you can say no to a lot of uncomfortable stuff that happens in life. And they really have. I've heard some stories.