The little cousin who wants to tag along won’t want to forever. Let them while they still do.

Being followed around by a younger kid feels like a tax when you are sixteen and in a hurry. It is actually a short window. In a few years that cousin will have their own friends and their own weekend plans and no particular interest in what you are doing, and the asking will simply stop. Nobody warns you which time was the last one.

Say yes to one of those invitations this week, even a small one: a video game, a walk to the store, twenty minutes of whatever they are obsessed with. You are not doing a favour so much as taking an offer while it is open.