Of course this advice meant nothing to me as a new mother. There simply aren't many battles to choose when caring for a newborn. Only now, as the mother of a two year old do I really understand the weight of these words. Thus my current ideas of acceptable behavior from a toddler have been slightly tweaked.
In all actuality, we have been lucky in this third year of life so often dubbed "the terrible twos". AC is a pleaser by nature, and therefore easily adheres to rules. But once we threw an international move into the mix we were bound to have some challenges.
I used to tell people that surely AC would be a dentist. After all her security blanket as a baby (other than me) was a toothbrush. I just didn't realize at the time that toddlers like to throw their parents curveballs. Now at age 2, the sight of a toothbrush sends her into a tizzy. After two nights of holding down a screaming toddler, prying her mouth open, and brushing her teeth I knew something had to give. Any parent can tell you that a battle of wills with a toddler will surely be lost. I also knew that I could surely outwit her.
I referred back to some knowledge I learned in Psych 101 (duh!) and realized that she needed to be rewarded. The following morning I hastily drew a few boxes on a sheet of paper, and informed AC that every night when we brushed her teeth she would earn a sticker to put in one of the boxes. She understood that once the boxes were filled with stickers she got to pick out a toy.
Duh! The carrot works better than the stick!
That night her teeth were brushed with minimal resistance. A week later we took her to the NEX (Navy Exchange) to pick out her prize. Seeing that she is the progeny of Chief and myself she chose to go to the bookstore. But it wasn't a book she wanted. I happily handed the cashier $2 for glitter Sesame Street tattoos (Abby Cadabby to be exact).
Right now my daughter is covered in glittery tattoos, but she has clean teeth! How's that for choosing a battle?
Ciao, for now
In all actuality, we have been lucky in this third year of life so often dubbed "the terrible twos". AC is a pleaser by nature, and therefore easily adheres to rules. But once we threw an international move into the mix we were bound to have some challenges.
I used to tell people that surely AC would be a dentist. After all her security blanket as a baby (other than me) was a toothbrush. I just didn't realize at the time that toddlers like to throw their parents curveballs. Now at age 2, the sight of a toothbrush sends her into a tizzy. After two nights of holding down a screaming toddler, prying her mouth open, and brushing her teeth I knew something had to give. Any parent can tell you that a battle of wills with a toddler will surely be lost. I also knew that I could surely outwit her.
I referred back to some knowledge I learned in Psych 101 (duh!) and realized that she needed to be rewarded. The following morning I hastily drew a few boxes on a sheet of paper, and informed AC that every night when we brushed her teeth she would earn a sticker to put in one of the boxes. She understood that once the boxes were filled with stickers she got to pick out a toy.
Duh! The carrot works better than the stick!
That night her teeth were brushed with minimal resistance. A week later we took her to the NEX (Navy Exchange) to pick out her prize. Seeing that she is the progeny of Chief and myself she chose to go to the bookstore. But it wasn't a book she wanted. I happily handed the cashier $2 for glitter Sesame Street tattoos (Abby Cadabby to be exact).
Right now my daughter is covered in glittery tattoos, but she has clean teeth! How's that for choosing a battle?
Ciao, for now
She probably just remembers putting the Chief's tooth brush in the toilet and thinks you all did it to hers too
ReplyDeletePhilippa
Yes, that was mighty funny!
ReplyDeleteMaybe she remembers brushing Jake's teeth with her toothbrush...
ReplyDelete