Wow, my baby is growing up faster than I can imagine. Having four siblings to mimic, she has quickly learned to how to be a 'big kid': with a reach like Elasti-girl, she grabs a knife and tries to cut her own food; she loves to help load and empty the dishwasher (whether the dishes are dirty or clean); she plays and sings a song at the piano, then claps for herself; she flips a switch and turns a light or fan off and on (and off and on, and off and on...). Yesterday, she learned from her brother how to exclaim "Ididit, Mama!" (and she says it just like that, as if it was all one word) and she loves to say "yesh!"
But my easy-going and agreeable child still has moments of stubbornness and defiance. Other children say "no!" when a parent says "yes"; my child says "yesh!" when I say "no". Which is a problem when a spunky 19-month-old who thinks she's three insists on cutting with scissors. She's still as 'cute as a button', but sometimes her actions are not so cute anymore. Yesterday, she hit her brother on the head with a big yellow die, and I don't mean one of those fuzzy squishy dice. When I tried to stop her from hitting him again, she smacked me on the head with the plastic die! I held her hand and gave her a sharp "No!", and that was enough to bring down the corners of her petite mouth and start the water works. I'm glad that at this point, a quick reprimand is enough to cause regret.
Though I still want to cuddle and coddle her like a baby, my youngest knows better, and I can't always treat her like a baby anymore. I have to remind myself that discipline starts now, even at this young age. And though I don't want to be the cause of her tears, I know that she sometimes must learn through her tears in order to mature.
But my easy-going and agreeable child still has moments of stubbornness and defiance. Other children say "no!" when a parent says "yes"; my child says "yesh!" when I say "no". Which is a problem when a spunky 19-month-old who thinks she's three insists on cutting with scissors. She's still as 'cute as a button', but sometimes her actions are not so cute anymore. Yesterday, she hit her brother on the head with a big yellow die, and I don't mean one of those fuzzy squishy dice. When I tried to stop her from hitting him again, she smacked me on the head with the plastic die! I held her hand and gave her a sharp "No!", and that was enough to bring down the corners of her petite mouth and start the water works. I'm glad that at this point, a quick reprimand is enough to cause regret.
Though I still want to cuddle and coddle her like a baby, my youngest knows better, and I can't always treat her like a baby anymore. I have to remind myself that discipline starts now, even at this young age. And though I don't want to be the cause of her tears, I know that she sometimes must learn through her tears in order to mature.
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