My friend, Sofia, came for a visit yesterday. We spent the whole day together which meant that I had to be on my toes from 9 ’til 5. Sofia is an easy going toddler…but she IS a toddler of the 2.5 nearly 3 year old range. I am most definitely not an expert in children but I do know that this is the age when they want to be in control. Like teenagers, they need to find out who they are and they do this by challenging adults and trying to manage their world.
“I wanna do it!” is a favorite sentence when you’re trying to tie shoes or put on their coat.
Yesterday, at the very end of the day when I was absolutely knackered, Sofia asked, “will you play wif me?” We had already put together our puzzle, done some ipad games, went to the park, played a board game, and read a book.
Then I remembered that we still had a big box of lego from when the boys were little and so I dug the box out from under the bed and brought it downstairs. They were dusty, though, and so I got a wet cloth and set about washing them.
“I WANNA DO IT!!!!” the little one screamed.
“Have at it, girlie!” I said and gave her the cloth. She spent the next 30 minutes washing each lego and she was very pleased with herself, indeed. I think she felt that she had triumphed over the adult and mastered the situation.
I just smiled. And drank a cup of coffee.
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You are Tom Sawyer. Next time see if you can’t get her to weed your garden.
That’s pretty much what my friend, Teresa, said. She told me to get her to clean my baseboards because they are just the right height for that kind of work. Hmmmm.
One time Kate wanted to clean the loo. She took ownership. My was she proud! A little damp too:).
They’re so stubborn at that age and when they insist on doing something like that, it’s so funny. And good for them!