Friday 1 October 2010

'Noah do it'

Can there be such a thing as too much independence??

I have always been very patient with Noah and allowed him to try everything. I never just do things for him without using at as a lesson.  I talk to him about everything that goes on in our day.  I show him how to do everything for himself. Maybe he would have been crazy independent anyway, maybe I've made a rod for my own back.  The kid is mad about doing everything for himself.  You name it - shoes on and off, unlocking the front door, putting his seat belt on, washing his own dishes, making his own breakfast, fill his own water bottle - the list goes on and on and on.

It's awesome - I'm proud of him - but all this 'doing it himself' is a slow process and sometimes I'm in a hurry.

How can I rush him when he's trying so hard to do all the things I've taught him. I can't possibly discourage this wonderful independence and ability.  I need to find a balance - a way to get him to understand that sometimes Mummy needs to help - any attempts at helping currently result in a tantrum - love those.

Bring on 3 - it's all smooth sailing from there - right???!!

The one thing he won't do is spoon feed himself and that would actually really help me out!!! (This is a story for another day)

What's happening at your house - are the kids taking charge or are you a servant to their every need?



** I am participating in Blogtoberfest over at Tinniegirl so come and check if I can actually blog every day for 31 days.

8 comments:

  1. My boy goes through ups and downs with this. One day, he's feeding himself completely, and the next he still wants us to do some.

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  2. Mr3 still drives me nuts with the spoon feeding. He's happy to use a fork, but not a spoon. It's all one step forward, two steps back, until one day they just get on with it. I just hope that happens soon.

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  3. My 3yo is very independent, and sometimes that's great, sometimes it sucks when I'm trying to get out the house in a hurry and he insists on putting his own shoes on.

    But all in all, I think independence is a good thing. But absolutely hear ya on how frustrating it can be!

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  4. Oh you have my sympathies! To answer your question: right now it's both... I am a slave and am having to cater to the ever-present independence. It's confusing!

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  5. I find it such a challenge being patient when we are in a rush to go somewhere and one of my kids is doing exactly what I have taught them to do - carefully putting shoes on, trying to find a hat or washing their hands etc. I feel like I am stuck in the middle - half of them are trying to take charge and the other half I am busy filling every need....great thoughts in this post...thanks for linking up!

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  6. so many stages of childhood. We definitely need to be able to read minds sometimes

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  7. our son's were clearly separated at birth. Millar is exactly the same - wants to do everything except spoonfeed himself his weetbix. until recently. We now have a sticker chart on the fridge and he gets a sticker when he feeds himself breakfast. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes of him screaming and me refusing before he does it though.

    I am happy to let him do most things himself but doing up his own seatbelt is a nightmare. Distraction sometimes works like "can you hold mummy's keys please" but other times I just have to wait patiently while he tries.

    He's 2 and a half. I've heard 3 is even worse, but maybe with practice our kids will be doing things faster by then. If I could get the seatbelt thing to under 5 mins I'd be a happy woman.

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  8. Thanks everyone for dropping by today. Great to see I'm not the only one struggling with the balance of power with a headstrong toddler. It's all part of the 'fun' I guess.

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Hi thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. It is nice to know someone is listening.

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