Take mealtimes for instance : I strap her in her highchair, put on her bib and proceed to try to feed her a spoonful of her lunch. She shakes her head in determination (and refuses to open her mouth): No no no, mummy! No! (That is what I interpret her to be telling me). What this means : "I want to feed myself!" So, I let her hold her spoon, fiddle with her lunch/dinner. Then only will she be willing to let me feed her. The result of me letting her let have a go is a huge mess : food lands up everywhere - floor, on her seat, her clothes, her toes, ME! I don't mind, I believe she needs to learn to master this skill and I do not subscribe to suppressing her (wanting to explore, to learn new experiences) just for MY CONVENIENCE!
(Trying to feed herself - Job well done this time!)
Then of course, are the times where she really DEMANDS things to be done her way. How do I react to her tantrums? I try to contain my anger, I try not to shout at her to stop doing that. But sometimes, I err. I hope she is not picking it up from me :P Anyway, I am still trying to figure this out. They say these little ones are a mirror of what we are to them.
On a lighter note, some of her "demands" are reasonable : Like this morning, she demanded (pointing and taking down her crocs and passed them to me, while uttering "UHH UHH UHH", which i presume was "wear them for me??"). I obliged. She happily wore them around the house like it's her second skin. After a bit, she decides she doesn't want to wear them and sat down and peeled off the strap and... THROW THEM on the spot. I am still trying to work out how to teach her to put things back where they belong. Currently, she does help me out during the evenings when I ask her to help me put things away, but only if I tell her to.
"The crocs Grandpa bought for me!"
4 comments:
Mine's the same. Always wanted to do things herself & sometimes beyond what she can manage. I, too have to resist the urge to do it for her cos it's faster. In the long run, it works out better for both mother & child.
Beware terrible twos do not start at 2.
I think it gives her tremendous satisfaction when she can do things independently.So all your patience is definitely worth it!!!
Wow! Clever girl!
wah... she's really grown.
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