7.05am. A noise comes from his bedroom. I get in the shower and turn off the light. “No mom! On!". I smile and turn on the light. “No mom, OUT!” sounds from behind his door. And I take it off again. Entering his room, I see a little man just over two years old curled up in his sleeping bag. Pacifier in his mouth. Teat out of his mouth. Turn around and back again. He laughs behind that green colossus and his eyes are on mischief. Already. Toddler puberty has started 😉 .
“Shall I take off your sleeping bag?” I ask again and again, even though I already know the answer. “No, no, mommy,” he says. And just like yesterday and the days before, the sleeping bag can only be taken off when we sit downstairs on the couch, checking whether daddy has already set the table with “Mads plate”, “me knife mama” and “pasta”. And woe betide you if this hasn't already happened or if Daddy isn't even awake yet and I come down alone with him. Then my toddler is suddenly not so cozy anymore.
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That toddlerhood is something to me. Where before I could solve everything with playing and a joke, now even the biscuit tin can't cope with Mister's moods. "No, we're not going to watch movies all morning." This is regularly the start of a hymn to crying spells with a tantrum as the crescendo. “Get away from the dog, she doesn't like it when you bump into her” is the start of the battle for the fire engine. "One more time and he'll go into the pantry." And of course he has to do it himself. This makes me wonder again whether putting that car away is a punishment for him, or just the icing on the cake.
We're going to have a good time outside. Positive parenting:I keep trying! Just a nice walk outside is not so pleasant when Mr. has thought that he wants to look everywhere "just for a while". As free and enterprising as he is, he sees something interesting everywhere. “Don't take a look,” he says. Then he runs away. He tests whether the marks on the cars are really stuck. Does he knock on the neighbor's window (we live in a courtyard so if things are not going well there are 11 neighbors). Or does he end up in the newly raked garden of one of the neighbors to rearrange the layout according to his idea.
And sometimes he does all these things on his way from home to the end of the courtyard, leaving me torn every time. Because if I have to go after him, it means I have to leave his little brother of a few months old alone in the pram. Not to mention parking the dog that of course really needs to pee. Sigh… toddlerhood keeps everyone busy.
Of course I'm a stone's throw away, but I don't like the idea of parking the baby all the time. It is also really not nice for the dog if they always have to wait for too short rounds. But explain that to Sir. Just like explaining that he is really not allowed to climb on the cupboard because he could fall and that hurting also makes no sense. Or that if he is in the duo car, say that he has to stay seated because we have to go through quickly. But that it has to stay in place because otherwise it will fall out.
He does what he wants to try anyway. Everything in his body and head is on the “NO! I CAN DO IT MYSELF and NOBODY DOES WHAT ME BECAUSE I AM 2!!” position. So I often come after 2 warnings as the biggest bummer of the day but run again. For example, to secure it a little tighter in the car under loud protest. Or take it home by one arm or take it to a place where it is safe to play. Of course, that place is not good enough in his eyes.
Yes. Sir is King, Emperor and Admiral at the same time and I think the whole world revolves around him just a little too often at the moment. Do you recognize that toddlerhood? It sometimes drives me to despair, because I don't want to constantly correct and limit him, because that is not pleasant. But it has to be and he needs it so badly. Sometimes my feelings run away. Because then I think I should do it differently, because it can't be good that he gets angry so often?
Sometimes I almost feel guilty about myself. Fortunately, I have a sweet mother who says that I used to be so enterprising and stubborn. My own toddlerhood. And that it is then necessary to limit but on the other hand to give freedom to discover. Freedom within borders, precisely to provide security. We as parents set the boundaries so that he cannot hurt himself (too) seriously. Falling and bruising are also a part of it and so that he learns what is and is not allowed. So hopefully soon enough he will understand why we do that and he can learn what is and isn't good for him. Or is that too nice a thought? Toddler or adolescent… what's the difference 😀 ?.
He is and remains an energetic boy, that son of ours. And if he is really as enterprising and stubborn as I am, then he will literally and figuratively bump his head often enough. In any case, I hope that he retains his openness, spontaneity, cheerfulness and open-mindedness. Because actually… that's what makes him so much fun. The behavior around it will probably go away. He'll stop banging his head one day, right? And when we're done with that, we can start looking at puberty behavior I'm afraid 😉 .
Toddlerhood, how are you coping? I'm curious!
