My ds told me he wouldn't be my friend anymore

[Justicedog]

My ds actually tells me this a lot.  He's almost 4.  That's become his response to me telling him to do anything - eat dinner, get in car, go to bed.  He'll say "no", I'll then tell him again, and he'll tell me "Fine! I'm not going to be your friend anymore."  I generally tell him "that's ok, I'm your mom"

I forgot to put a question.  Do your children tell you this?  What is your response?

[Cathleen]

My 3 yo dd does this, mostly because the 5 yo boy across the street said it and she repeats it. BUT she does understand what she's saying and I ask her why she wants to hurt my feelings. "It makes mommy sad when you tell me you're not my friend anymore". Most of the time she doesn't hear me say that though because when I try to talk to her about it she says "STOP TALKING TO ME!".

[EmmaGirlsMilk]

My ds does something similar.  He tells me "you don't love me anymore".  He also says "your not my mom anymore".  I have tried everything from telling him yes, I do love him to just geting irritated and walking away from him.  
I think it is just a stage.  Actually, I am praying it is just a stage because it is making me nuts!
I can't wait to hear the responses to this, I m open to trying everything.

[grape]

Dd tells me she doesn't "like me anymore" sometimes now.

I usually just say "That's fine. You don't have to like me all the time. But you still have to clean up your toys."

It's weird how ALL kids do this at one time or another, LOL. They must hold secret meetings or something

[LuvJAH]

My ds tells me he doesent like me anymore and that I dont like him.  My response is usuallly similar to what grape says.

[MamaCheetah]

DS1 is 5 yo and tells me he doesn't like me whenever he doesn't get his way.  I'll say, thats OK - I love you anyway.

[Free_Food]

what grape said.  DD is almost 3 and has been doing this for a few months.  She'll say I do not like you Daddy, or Mommy, or both.  We'll tell her that's okay, she doesn't have to like us all the time, but we still love her and she still has to do whatever it is she doesn't want to do.

Another thing we've done when it's clear she's saying it b/c she's mad at us is telling her "It seems like you're mad at mommy or daddy."  Acknowledging the feeling that's there but not allowing ugly talk about it either.  We have friends that won't let their kids say I'm mad at you and I think it's really dysfunctional - we all get mad sometimes.

I think it's a boundary testing issue.  Sort of checking to see if we'll still love them even if they say they don't like us.

[Ph-Unbalanced]

Chiming in with "What Grape Said" as well. I also use "That's OK, you don't have to be my friend. But you still have to _____ ." He doesn't like it, and it's sometimes still a fight, but it works for us most of the time. I think it's OK for his age, and frankly there are times in my life when I've taken a break from my friends. Why shouldn't the same be OK for our children? They're just more blunt about it! Eventually I'd try to redirect the statement into "what you said/did hurt my feelings and I need a break," instead of the more rude and in-your-face version. But at 4 I think it may be a bit of a reach still.

[Xamilla the Siperhero]

Vinnie's new thing is "You're not the best  Mommy anymore" if I tell him no.  My standard answer is "That's ok, I can't always be the best."

When it comes to the "I don't like you" angle, I do the same thing as grape.  He doesn't have to like me 100% of the time.  I can't think of anyone I like 100% of the time, so I don't expect my kids to either.

[Ms. Jess]

Another, "What Grape Said," here.

DS1 has started trying to use it on me, too.  If he wants to do something and I say no, he gets huffy and says, "That's fine, but I want to ... " whatever the thing is.  It's pretty cute.

[RNMomof3]

I hear this a lot too when they don't get their way about something and I just say "that's fine, but I'm still your mommy and there's nothing you can do about it!!"  They usually end up laughing at me!

[SpoilingWithLove]

As I am the perfect mom, I'm sure MY daughter will never say anything like that to me    hehe  

Seriously, it does sound normal, but it's so hard for me to imagine right now (that's mostly because my DD is still speaking in one word sentences).  I hope when it does happen though, I will remember this thread so I can remind myself that I have not messed up somewhere so bad that my DD is ruined for life

[milkshake]

Yes I've heard this from all of mine at one time or another. I always just said ok whenever they told me that.