Living with a toddler can be a bit like riding a see saw - one minute you're up, the next minute you're down depending upon how your toddler is feeling at that moment in time. It's a wild ride of toddler emotions.
Spencer, ordinarily a sweet, mellow soul, lately has been defiance personified. A specific sticking point seems to be washing hands before meals. At preschool, he will readily wash his hands before snack time and lunch but at home it's an entirely different story. The last few evenings, he has refused to wash his hands before dinner. Mike and I have tried a number of different tactics to encourage Spencer's cooperation but nothing seems to work. We've ended up sitting down to start dinner without him. Spencer only joins us when he's good and ready.
Last night we experienced the meltdown to end all meltdowns. Spencer absolutely, positively did not want his hair or his body washed last night. He just wanted to "swim" in the bath like a baby whale. We're not sure what triggered the tantrum only that neither one of us has ever seen him so worked up. He definitely wants to be in charge of all decisions these days. It was rather heartbreaking to watch.
When we're not trying to wash his hair or have him wash his hands, Spencer often tells us he loves us and gives us kisses. He still loves stories and playing pretend. His laugh is music to our ears. Just to hear it, makes everything else worthwhile. He's our one and only Spencer and happy or sad, we wouldn't trade a thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment