After morning prayers this morning Isabella asked me to read from one of her current favorites: Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. I agreed in theory but started pulling all of that annoying mom nonsense. First, I had to put on my socks and slippers. Then I wanted to move from my bed to the couch in the living room. And then no sooner had we settled in on the couch but I noticed that she wasn’t wearing socks or slippers and so I insisted we get up and but I insisted we put on her socks and slippers first.
And somehow on the way to get them she lost the book and we couldn’t find it. I was pulling all the cushions off the couch, getting down on my hands and knees to look under the couch (and when you’re 37 weeks pregnant that’s no mean feat!)…. And all the while she kept insisting she wanted me to read “day” and her voice was getting that hysterical whining note that said a full-fledged toddler tantrum was just around the corner. (I was impressed by her referring to the book by a truncated title, though.)
I looked and looked and looked…. and finally found it in the kitchen and I don’t know when she even went in there with the book.
It was kind of funny in retrospect, but not so much at the time because she was in near tears over not being able to find that specific book and I feared the consequences had I not been able to find it.
God disciplines us because he loves us. Parents discipline their childeren because they love them. That is different from shame which includes comments like bad girl. I do not think you include shame in your loving discipline.
I’m guessing it means she understands too.
My friends’ almost-three-year-old has mastered the art of feigning choking on his food while crying to try to get sympathy and get out of being in trouble (usually for not eating his food to begin with). Mind you, it’s not like the consequences of being in trouble are really THAT dire; usually he’s trying to get out of eating his regular food in order to have more room for dessert, so the consequence is “no dessert”, which comes after numerous warnings that if he doesn’t start eating his dinner he won’t get it.
It sounds like Bella may be operating on a similar wavelength. Or she may be like I was, and be very sensitive to feeling guilty about doing something wrong. I’ve noticed a lot of children who are basically eager to please seem to have that kind of response to being corrected. Like “AAAUGH, no, don’t be mad at me!”
But I suspect you’re being altogether reasonable in your correction, so don’t let that keep you from continuing to correct her.
Little Cherub does something similar. With her it is an “oops!” gesture – both hands over mouth and lower part of face. She does it mostly if something goes wrong (drops something, loses something she wants and so on), but also does it occasionally when I scold her. As for understanding … yes, I’m Bella understands, as does Cherub. Although understanding doesn’t yet mean that she will remember the next time, or the time after that – she will probably need reminders for quite some time.
That should read “I’m *sure* Bella understands”