I wouldn't purport to be able to write a full post of sufficient quality!

But I can say the obvious is true: I become aware just what a soft touch I am, even when I realise it's a bad idea; I have to keep in mind what I'm supposed to be doing and what's a good idea and why I'm not doing the thing that's a good idea; I occasionally come to awareness carrying a Hello Kitty balloon and a fairy princess sticker book and a drink and an ice cream and then doing a stack trace to work out precisely how I got there, while the small child is demanding more things.

Keep the sensible thing firmly in mind as much as possible, and don't put up with tantrums. The child wants candy all the time, but your job is actually raising her properly. Children are highly evolved manipulators, for really obvious reasons. Mine appears particularly charming, based on how others appear similarly susceptible. It helps if I channel her mother, who is not a soft touch at all because this is her third rather than her first. Stuff like that.