Parenting Pearls from Granny Graci
Sunny is a two-year-old boy, who just discovered the joy of uttering the word “NO“. His parents are getting really worried about this new habit of Sunny.
Scene 1: Regular Scene at Sunny’s house
Sunny’s mom called him to take bath. Sunny ran away shouting NO. Sunny’s mom has to convince him a lot and cajole a lot to drag him into the bathroom. Sunny’s mother got very tired.
Sunny’s dad called him for a ride on a scooter, and Sunny shouted once again NO. By the time, his dad could convince Sunny for a ride on the scooter, all the fun is lost and his dad became a little grumpy.
Sunny’s parents are getting exhausted with these long negotiations that they have to undergo, in order to make Sunny complete a mundane task too.
Scene 2: On one of the long weekends, Sunny’s parents have decided to pay a visit to granny Graci and spend some time with her. The current scene is happening at granny Graci’s house.
Sunny is playing with his cars, which he carries everywhere. His aunt has offered him a glass of juice to drink. He shouted a big NO and got busy with his cars. His aunt left him and went back to work, leaving that glass of juice on the table. Sunny got up after 5 minutes and drank that juice.
Sunny’s granddad called him to come out to the park, Sunny shouted another big NO and sat on the couch, with an expectant look. But, his granddad didn’t say anything, and instead, went near the shoe rack to wear the shoes. Observing this, Sunny came out running and held his granddad’s hand in order to go to the park.
There are no negotiations or arguments and things seem to be very pleasant. Sunny’s parents felt very relaxed after a long time.
***** Problem Solved!!! *******
Granny Graci’s advice: Kids learn a lot by observing and Sunny is using NO a lot as that’s what he heard a lot earlier. The kids at this age can’t make any decision if unlimited choices are given. Also, they say NO, to extending the discussion, as they like the attention they are getting at that point in time. Instead, you provide them with limited options and by proceeding with our work, they will understand that they need to respond back in the given time.
This post was originally published at MEQ blogs
