Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Big Girl Words

What do you do when you want something? Do you ask specifically for what you want? Do you hint at it?

Many years ago, my brother asked me to babysit his daughter, my niece. I was in Germany when she was born, so I didn't see/meet her until she was almost two years old. I felt that that would give me a good chance to get to know her better, so I agreed.

He dropped her off at my grandparent's house since it was a familiar place for her. I figured that we'd watch Barney and play some games.

We never watched the full Barney episode. She cried the whole time.

I tried to get her to stop crying by waving candy and toys in front of her. That didn't work. After a while, I was getting pretty frustrated. I didn't know how to make her stop. At one point she flailed around on the floor, yelling that she wanted her daddy. I told her that I wanted him, too!

I took her into the dining room. Her cries died down when she saw a bowl of fruit on the table. She pointed at it (the bowl) and made this whimpering sound. I looked at the bowl and asked her what she wanted, but she kept pointing and making the sound.

I told her that she would have to use her big girl words and tell me which piece of fruit she wanted, but she wouldn't. She kept pointing and whimpering instead.

Finally, I took the bowl off of the table and brought it down to her level. I forgot which piece of fruit she picked, but she did stop crying/whimpering. She got what she wanted.

So do you whine and whimper or do you ask specifically for what you want? Do you use your big girl words?

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