Wed 23 Jul 2008
Could Someone Explain Toddlers to Me?
Posted by Liza under The Real Live Boy
Here’s what I don’t understand: How is it that one person can swing so radically from cooperative to possessed to charming to hitting to sobbing to kissing to screaming to singing in the span of say, 90 seconds?
And then do it again, 5 minutes later?
Also? Why is it so horrible to brush your teeth?
What can possibly be interesting about the road builder trucks book the 5th time we read it in half an hour?
This is not a question about toddlers per se, but I also wonder if someone could explain to me why the little potty we bought appears to be designed such that no little boy could possibly avoid peeing on the seat, while sitting on it? Can someone recommend one that is better designed for a large sized little boy?
(Guess who got up this morning and announced that he wanted to go potty on the potty??? And that he wanted to wear big boy underwear! And at dinner, when asked, agreed that yes, he would like to use the potty all the time!)
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Oh, the toothbrushing. Like you’re sticking hot coals in there.
Feel ya, sister.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:02 am
The inconsistency of toddler demeanors has actually made me wonder if what we tend to call a “mood” is really just a social or psychological construction. Adults can sometimes let a single incident — an argument or a bad morning commute — discolor an entire day. Toddlers don’t operate the same way, and allow themselves to be consoled and move on. This is one of the Big Lessons I’ve learned from my kids and that I try to keep with me, particularly when I feel cranky…
I’m puzzled too on the attractiveness to certain toddlers of trucks and diggers and dozers. I sort of hope it’s not all about power, noise, and capacity for destruction…
July 24th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
i hate brushing my teeth, it’s boring.
i don’t think it’s surprising that a person can swing so quickly from angry to happy to sad to whatever. i’m like that. the difference is that as adults we have the capacity to modulate our emotions with logic and self-restraint. sometimes.
on a somewhat related topic, the only reason i floss my teeth is so my dentist doesn’t scold me when i go for my cleaning. adults and kids aren’t so different. you can try to persuade people why something is important until you are blue in the face, but sometimes it just comes down to “because i’m the mommy/dentist/boss, that’s why!”
July 26th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Didn’t you have trouble brushing your teeth when pregnant with Noah? So this is a LONG standing aversion to brushing (or toothpaste). Don’t worry, he’ll grow out of the toddler stage and before you know it be having the same mood swings only in a teenage size body!