Henry is two.
You know what they say about two year olds right? This is the ‘terrible two’s’. SO FAR, they haven’t been that bad. However there are some instances where I feel like it might be just beginning. Take for instance tonight…
…We are having dinner. On the menu is Chicken drumsticks, carrots and ranch and some garlic bread triangles. Henry has eaten all that with no issues before. Low and behold, tonight he wasn’t having any of the chicken. All I asked was that he take just one bite. I think that one bite of everything being served is a reasonable request when someone makes a nice meal. Nope. Not a chance. (If you get queasy, you may want to stop reading. I’ll try not to be too graphic.) Henry has this disgusting behavior he sometimes pull when he doesn’t want to eat what we are serving. He will take a bite, no matter how small, and gag. He does it so much that he looses his dinner. I find this repulsive and unacceptable. I’m at a loss as what to do. Yes, I could just not worry about him eating it. If he doesn’t, then he doesn’t eat period. No making a second dinner here. On the other hand I feel that just one bite isn’t asking too much when someone makes a nice meal. I’m at a loss.
Another challenge is Henry’s independence. I’m better at handling these but it is getting tricky the older he becomes. Henry will flat-out tell you ‘No’ to something or ‘I don’t like it.’ As if, kiddo, you were the ruler of the roost. I don’t think so. You don’t call the big shots around here. Sometimes you don’t get to choose those things. I try to give him many choices as possible, even the silly ones, as encouraged by the ‘Parenting With Love and Logic’ model. However, there are times where children have to learn they don’t always get to choose. I’m totally in sync with this, but it doesn’t make getting the job done any easier when your child disagrees with your choice. An example would be when we have to change Henry’s diaper. We let him choose how he wants to go upstairs. Usually it’s ‘ Do you want to walk or do you want Mommy to carry you upstairs?’ I’ll change it up with; fly, hop, bark, etc… . He doesn’t want to go at all and so we choose for him (carry him). None the less, when he doesn’t want to go and we choose to carry him, he will still make it difficult to get the job done. The boy has some wicked squirming skills that would put worms to shame.
Lately he has the way of getting the ‘mean Mommy’ out who has to be the bad guy. You know, that’s the Mommy that has the lowered stern tone, ‘the look’, the one that will follow through no matter how long it takes on the naughty mat until he apologizes. No one likes to do that job of parenting, but the older the children get, the more mean Mommy has to appear. I know that my main job is not to be his friend. It’s to parent to give him the tools that he needs as an adult to make sound decisions. It sucks. I’d rather snuggle on the couch and watch Curious George or play trains with him.
Parenting is always evolving with the childs growing needs. It’s not an easy job because once you think you have it figured out, your child changes developmentally, thus your role with them as well.
What worries me is what happens at the age of three. One day at a time, one day at a time. (repeat) *wipes the sweat from her brow*
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