Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say

We have definitely entered into the "terrific twos". I don't want to call them "terrible twos" because in my opinion, three is a whole lot worse than two.

We are hearing alot more of the following words, phrases and sentences from Luke:
Mine!
Let me have it!
I do it!
No!
Let me do it!
They all have exclamation points because he says all of them emphatically just as a two year old should!

However, I find myself having trouble thinking on my feet when I am correcting him. We try to get him to say "Yes, Mommy" or "Yes, Daddy" after we tell him something so that we get a verbal response. That way we know he is paying attention and hopefully it makes him less likely to do or not do whatever if he has already said "Yes" to one of us. We found this worked well when Fletcher was this age and now it is easier for Fletcher to say "Yes ma'am" or "No ma'am" at school and with other adults because he knows we expect him to respond in that way. We are also trying to teach Luke that he shouldn't tell us "No."

Kevin (lovingly) pointed out that I am probably confusing him when I say things like this:

Mom: Luke, we need to share and take turns.
Luke: NO!
Mom: Luke, you do not tell Mommy 'no'. Do you understand?
Luke: NO!
Mom: Luke, you do not tell Mommy 'no'. Do you want a time out in your room?

Ummmm. Do you see why he might be a little confused?

Oh the joys of parenting!

1 comment:

Georgia Girl said...

Oh my! I was hoping that the second time around it might be a little easier. Yeah, right - what was I thinking! We started giving C options - Do you want to continue to play or do you want a timeout? We give him options for everything, his dinner, his shirt, whether he wants to brush his teeth first or brush his hair, whether he wants a pop on the leg or the bottom. I think it helps him feel somewhat more in control and avoids the 'yes' or 'no'. It's so exhausting!!!!