I’ve always heard about the terrible twos, so the new set of emotions during that year I just threw it in that pile, and if this is the challenging stage, we are getting off pretty easy.
Well, then there came three. WHERE WAS THE WARNING SIGN FOR THAT?!
I love my son’s loveable solid inquisitive personality. There is never a dull moment when he is around—always wanting to explore, but he’s not a fan of surprises. He MUST know where we are going, and I love it! Until he started reading the store signs at each place, we would pull up to. I find myself wanting to ask him, can we please not recap our entire day? “Yes, Asher, we are at Target (again), lol.”
I am trying my best not to dim his light and curiosity, but boundaries are also critical to me at this age, so the lines get blurred and hard sometimes. First, the word “NO” was introduced and attempted to run our household. Then came the “mine” phase, and currently, we are tackling the “I don’t want to” phase. I want to give options, but there are still times when I have to remind him, as my parents would say growing up, “I’m the adult, and you are the child.”
When we go into the store, wanting to give him a sense of independence, I will let him walk instead of trapping him in a basket. I see other kids walk calmly next to their parents and look forward to that stage where we can do that. Just like anything, I often remind myself that everything takes practice. If it’s early and the store isn’t as crowded, I try to give him the space. Also, the main thing is to make sure my patience is intact because I want the experience to be pleasant for both of us.
We have recently had a moment in the store where he wanted to explore but curiously took over. He stopped listening to directions, so I started playing eye spy with him. Before I knew it, he was so excited about finding the colors that he calmed down, and we could redirect and recenter.
I will be honest in saying I don’t want to be the mother walking around with the screaming child in the store, but I refuse to be the one who walks out every time my child has a meltdown. For me, I believe it starts at home. Home is our place of comfort. Here, I try and redirect and not ignore him because I’ve learned that he only gets louder with ignoring and his set of lungs.
We are growing and continuing to practice gratitude along the way. He looks to me for boundaries and guidance as he explores the world around him. But in me teaching him, he constantly reflects parts of myself to me. Some are great, and some need a little extra grace. So remember to give yourself and your little one grace as we are all learning together.
