*Sigh*
There's been some "experimentation" with striking others in the past, primarily at daycare. But it was short-lived, and after all, you put a few toddlers in a daycare setting with shared Legos and it's only a matter of time before you've got a Lord of the Flies situation on your hands, right?
When we picked Mira up from the YMCA childcare the other day, the college-age monitor handed her over and whispered, almost apologetically, "There were some incidents."
Incidents?
"She was hitting," the childcare person continued with a wince. "Some of the babies." I looked around quickly to make sure none of her infant victims' parents were within earshot. Fortunately none were, and we could extend a quick apology and then whisk the criminal away from the scene of her crimes.
Really, Mirabelle? The babies?
Well, it's not just the babies. Her new favorite target is Gracie. Ethan occasionally gets a whack, but generally he deserves it because he's antagonizing her to entertain himself. (There's nothing more maddening to Mira than her big brother leaning across the van to rest his arm on her carseat). Gracie, on the other hand, is usually an innocent victim of this recent behavior.
I'm pretty sure Mira finds Gracie's reaction to being hit (crying) fascinating, and our response (time-outs for Mrs. Naughty) somewhat interesting as well. I think timeouts are a deterrent. But then the other day, she smacked Gracie with a toy, and immediately ran over and put herself in timeout before anyone could say anything. She sat there, still and serious, when we entered the room, and then pointed at a still-weeping Gracie and exclaimed, "Dat!" (Oh, that. Ah yes, I see. Thank you for explaining why you've put yourself in timeout).
What do you say, as the parent, when the kid punishes herself before you get a chance? Good girl? Naughty girl? Both?
Incidents?
"She was hitting," the childcare person continued with a wince. "Some of the babies." I looked around quickly to make sure none of her infant victims' parents were within earshot. Fortunately none were, and we could extend a quick apology and then whisk the criminal away from the scene of her crimes.
Really, Mirabelle? The babies?
Well, it's not just the babies. Her new favorite target is Gracie. Ethan occasionally gets a whack, but generally he deserves it because he's antagonizing her to entertain himself. (There's nothing more maddening to Mira than her big brother leaning across the van to rest his arm on her carseat). Gracie, on the other hand, is usually an innocent victim of this recent behavior.
I'm pretty sure Mira finds Gracie's reaction to being hit (crying) fascinating, and our response (time-outs for Mrs. Naughty) somewhat interesting as well. I think timeouts are a deterrent. But then the other day, she smacked Gracie with a toy, and immediately ran over and put herself in timeout before anyone could say anything. She sat there, still and serious, when we entered the room, and then pointed at a still-weeping Gracie and exclaimed, "Dat!" (Oh, that. Ah yes, I see. Thank you for explaining why you've put yourself in timeout).
What do you say, as the parent, when the kid punishes herself before you get a chance? Good girl? Naughty girl? Both?
2 comments:
my bigger kids have taught anna the word "naughty" and they say it to her all the time (most of the time she's not be naught, she's just being nearly-2, but they don't know the difference) so now she goes around saying "naughty" all the time. that's so great, don't you think. and yes, she's a hitter too . . . usually it is deserved, if i dare say that and fortunately, we only had siblings as targets. and no babies!
hang in there!
shana
That is absolutely hysterical Jules! We did have the klepto issues at our house with one of our kids (guess which one) but no one volunteered to go for a time out!
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