Just about all parents of small children have been put in the position now occupied by Gov. David Paterson.

“You're not leaving this table until you eat your broccoli.”

It's an order that sometimes works rather quickly.

Other times, the children put the parent to the test. They play with the broccoli, they sing songs, they pout, they scream.

But ultimately, if the parent relents, the lesson is lost.

That's why we've been pleased that Paterson has refused to give in to the childish antics of the state Senate. Last week, upon being forced into a special session by Paterson because he wants the Senate to get past its internal power dispute and actually pass laws badly needed by the state, senators found all kinds of ways to avoid doing what they were asked.

They resorted to holding dueling sessions in which a Republican-led faction and a Democratic-led faction tried to talk over each other. The Democrats played games with the podium, arriving early so they could claim it before the Republicans. The two sides eventually found common ground in their dislike for Paterson's order, so they took turns holding mock sessions that meant nothing.

All the while, they kept coming up with excuses for why they couldn't actually find a way to pass a law.

As we said at the beginning of the week, Paterson is doing the right thing by forcing the senators to stay in Albany and report to the chamber each day until they actually do some work. Eventually, they're going to wear down and just get things done.

The motivation for doing so could well come from a newfound mutual dislike of the governor, but Paterson shouldn't be concerned about that. He's much better off having some admiration from the public than he is from these so-called public servants.