Monday, April 6, 2009

Negotiating Two-ness

While Sasha, technically, isn’t two yet…we are getting awfully darn close.
And I’ve been learning that it’s mostly easy to deal with.

First matter of business: always make sure that I have food and drink on me. A two-year-old who is getting hungry or thirsty is a tiny little keg of C-4. For this reason, I always have a pack of cheesy crackers, a box of raisins, and a drink box in my purse. If I notice it’s been too long since he’s feasted (and he does feast), it’s time to whip out my rations.

Second matter of business: never mess with bedtime. A two-year old who’s sleepy is a tiny little keg of HMX.

Third matter of business: When possible, let him pick. This weekend we went to the Korean market and it was a blast. I let him pick some of his own fruit (he’s a produce fiend and a place that has 8 different varieties of just apples is a wonderland to him), he got to eat the samples from the sample ladies (there, the sample ladies exist in the produce aisle cooking fresh veggies) if he wanted, and pick what noodles we were going to get. But there were no possible wrong choices so why not?

Fourth matter of business: We’ve been starting to say “You say ‘yes’” when he isn’t going to get a choice on whether he wants to or not—like diaper changes, or whether or not to have lunch (if he demanded beans, rather than chicken, that’s fine. But he WILL eat). He’s getting the idea when its not okay to decide to assert himself with that cue.

And finally, man can a little kid put away the food!!!! Sasha eats more than either his Father or myself. His only real “sweets” are pudding and graham crackers. On occasion, he will have a taste of something else, but mostly he doesn’t like it. So far, only chocolate-covered sunflower seeds and strawberry ice cream are hits and we never give him much of either. So all that food? Is pure nutrition. So why are his pants still too short?!?

1 comment:

caramama said...

Good tips! I love the idea of taking the toddler somewhere and letting them choose. Maybe I'll bring the Pumpkin with me to Wholefoods and let her pick some fruits and veggies (I'm sure she'll at least pick blueberries).

For things that she doesn't have a choice in, I've been telling not asking. Hubby still say, "Okay?" And I asked him what if she says no (which he does), and he says he'll explain to her that it has to happen anyway. I don't think he should even ask, because I think it would be confusing. But I've learned to pick my battles with hubby as well as toddler. ;-)