A Toddler

Brooklyn is an excellent kid. She is also a toddler and with that comes some unavoidable crises. Usually we're fighting over taking a nap - praise God we've worked that out and changed "nap-time" to "rest-time" where she can take a book to bed with her and just "rest" although she almost always falls asleep and takes a two hour nap anyway. Sometimes it's a matter of teaching her not to hit, throw or bite. Sometimes it's a simple matter of grabbing her before she defiantly steps out onto a busy street. Most times we're not amused but sometimes, it's just too hard not to chuckle.

Like yesterday, for instance. She was up and ready for her usual Saturday morning video. I got her all set up and she asked for juice - even said "please" - so I went to get her some. I picked the wrong kind, and unfortunately she saw the juice bottle, so she was quite upset with me. I kept telling her to just try the juice, which I knew she would like. But it wasn't to be. I even tried "tricking" her by pretending to put milk in the cup. YOU DON'T INSULT A TODDLER'S INTELLIGENCE LIKE THAT. Well, the cup went in the fridge still full of the dreaded juice.

Later in the day, she asked for juice. Yes, of course, I got out that same cup. But she's no dummy.... Sean and I both were trying to convince her that she wanted to try the juice. We both took several sips and swooned with exaggeration over it's excellent flavor. She was not impressed. Finally, it came down to "You take a drink of that juice right now or you are not getting anything for the rest of your life!" With big tears, she still refused. At this point, of course, Sean and I are convinced that we are not good parents and are abusive to ask her to try a silly juice. But pretty soon she disappeared. A look around the corner revealed her sucking away at the straw of her cup, loving this new juice. Then she was asking for more.

She's two and a half. I know a million stories similar to this one from parents all over the world. And yet, somehow, Sean and I expected our precious child to be different. Or at least, we expected our parenting techniques to be better. Who got the last laugh? Somehow, I still feel like Brooklyn won this one.