When I was pregnant, the list of pregnancy dos and don'ts was very intimidating to me. Don't eat lunch meat or soft cheeses. Do sob uncontrollably when you find out you're not supposed to eat lunch meat and soft cheeses. Don't fly when you're more than eight months pregnant. Do consider divorce when your husband jokes that you'd need to buy two seats anyway.
My son isn't old enough to speak in full sentences, so he hasn't said anything particularly disturbing yet. The closest thing I have to relate is the night he offered his milk to mommy, then daddy, then an invisible person apparently standing behind us. Later that night during bath time, he also pointed to the invisible person standing in the bathroom doorway, and then waved goodnight to the invisible person at bed time. Every time he did it, shivers ran down my spine.
From the day we are born, it's ingrained in us that sharing is the good and right thing to do. I have two cookies and you have none, so I'll give you one so we both have a treat to enjoy. But should sharing be mandatory?
If you have a toddler now or have had one in the past, you know what it's like. Anything, even the most undramatic, non-issue issues can set them off. One minute they're happily chattering away with their favorite toy, the next minute they're completely losing it. Zero to meltdown in two seconds flat.
I do my best not to pass judgment on anyone, especially other parents because I know how physically and emotionally taxing it can be at times. That being said, I am human, and when I see things like this story of a mother who left her sleeping infant inside the car while she shopped, I find myself saying, "What the heck was she thinking?" I'm the kind of person who won't even leave my dog tied up outside while I'm in a store or a restaurant.
So you find out that your kid has been stealing, from friends, from stores, from you. She actually seems proud of it, and even brags about how she likes to steal. You tell her that stealing is wrong and not at all acceptable. She continues to steal. You punish her by taking away toys and privileges. She still steals. Now what?
I'm sure you guys have totally been on the edges of your seats, so I thought I'd give you a little update. My kid says words now. Real words. With intent. It was a pretty exciting day in the Nance household when my son pointed to the bananas (his favorite food in the whole wide world) and said "Nana!"
I'm often surprised by the things my son will and won't eat. When he was first starting solid foods, he loved avocado. Now he bats it away or spits it out. But then I made chicken enchiladas the other night. I always offer him a little of what I've made for us, just to see if he'll eat it. To my surprise, he gobbled up the chicken enchiladas with enthusiasm.
