Tiny-Person Backtalk
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, March 17, 2011 1:15 PM
Have you read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle?
I highly recommend it. It’s delightful, and fun for parents to read.
However, in the first book there’s a child who talks back (the story in that chapter is about how her parents “cured” her behavior) and when her mother or father tells her to do something, she screws up her face and says, “I’ll do it because I want to, but not because you tell me to!”
A few days after we listened to the audio version of the book, I gave Camilla some instructions and she retorted, “I’ll do it because I want to, but not because you tell me to!”
I was shocked, I tell you. SHOCKED. Who knew four-year-olds were so suggestionable?
(I’ll pause so you can have a chance to stop laughing.)
Since Camilla is our first-born, every stage is new to us. I found age three pretty tiring (so much willfullness!) but age four seemed easier for a while. She actually obeyed instructions when they were given! Miraculous!
Then the sassy stage hit.
Now, I have plenty of leverage. Disciplining isn’t fun, but it’s still pretty straightforward with a four-year-old. My daughter will learn quickly how wrong she is when she says, “You’re not the boss of me!”
For me, the hardest part of this new stage is keeping a straight face. I don’t want to let Camilla see how amusing I find being ordered around by a person who still weighs less than 40 pounds. But I have trouble hiding my laughter when whatever new phrase she’s using is particularly hilarious or particularly heartfelt.
(“No matter what you do, you can NEVER make me go to bed!” Oh, really?)
I’m hoping that properly-applied discipline helps Camilla grow out of this stage soon, but I also wish I had a hidden audio recorder so that I could immortalize these moments and play them back to her when she’s a mom herself someday. Wouldn’t that be fun?
If a child of yours has gone through a sassy stage, I’d love to hear about it. How did you handle it? Did you have trouble keeping a straight face? Want to share any particularly ridiculous things your kids have said?
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