I heard that 3 year olds can be quite difficult. It's because, this is the age where they are building up character and testing the will of their guardian. Recently, Ernest has become more and more intolerant towards our wishes. He's got to have it his way or non at all. Of course, as parents, we should not give in too easily as this will give the impression that we are weak and meek. How do you get a 3 year old to be on time, listen to you and not throw a tantrum all the time. That's a difficult question.
The other day, I was struggling to feed Ernest during dinner time. I was somewhat successful at the dining table, but all efforts to get him to brush his teeth were in vain. He just refused flatly. This was followed by about 10 minutes of power struggle before mom finally came to the rescue and took him away. This morning, I was trying to get Ernest to put on his trousers for school. Alas, he refused every single piece of it. This went on for some time, having exhausted his collection of pants which amounted to 5 pieces, over and over again. Finally, at wits end, I held him near, consoled him as he was every bit as tired as me after that endurance test and finally managed to put it on for him.
All these episodes, brings me to realize that a 3 year old's vocabulary is really limited. They have many feelings that they cannot described fully to us and that we just fail to recognize the signs. Being a parent, we need to see them and react accordingly. Sometimes, by loosening up a little, we can be more effective in persuading the little one to our wishes.
Happy parenting!
Ernest enjoying a burger in his favorite Boukenger sweater
3 comments:
totally agree vid ko. I felt frustrated and helpless too at times when I can't calm Ian down, or can't feed him, or can't make him fall asleep.
well, look at the bright side pal, at least you only have 15 more years to freedom, and I still have 17 years and 4 months to go...
Don't know about kids in US, but over here, it's basically a contract for life. Our kids are stuck with us for better or worse. But you are right, having something to look forward to does make things better. Here's to the rest of our trips.
Sometimes things just happened. I let my 2 years-old pick out her own clothing.Not for the school days. They will get dress faster but with a little miss match.
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