May 29 2004
Bye Bye Birdie
Sam’s temper tantrums are out-of-control lately. He’s so determined to do things on his own like dressing himself and going to the potty. Unfortunately, these things aren’t easy for the little guy and he gets frustrated. Frustration leads to bouts of screaming and crying, kicking his legs, the whole nine yards. If I were only allowed to help him out, things wouldn’t get so crazy, but he won’t have anything to do with me at times like those. Deep breath, mama. This too shall pass.
Keeping in mind how difficult dealing with him has been lately, you may imagine how thrilled I was when he brought his underwear to me this morning and insisted on wearing them rather than his diapers. I want to encourage him to use the potty when he needs to, but I don’t want to end up arguing with him about it in anticipation of an accident, which is bound to happen. Did I forget to mention that he just can’t stand being messy and will throw a fit when that happens too?
I’ve set the kitchen timer for 60 minutes and have been making him go potty whenever it goes off. So far, we’ve had two hours of success. I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed that he can keep this up! The diaper will go on once nap time rolls around. I’m putting my foot down on this one.
The funny thing is, right when he’s striving for his independence, his imagination has also kicked into full gear. He’s been role-playing with a pair of puffin beanie babies. He tells me, “mommy, birdie bad boy.”
I respond, “oh really?”
He solemnly tells me that birdie needs to sit in the corner. I watch as he places one of the puffins in the corner with which he is becoming increasingly familiar. He looks up and says, “mommy, birdie crying.”
“Is birdie sorry for being a bad boy?”
He says, “no, birdie sit in corner.”
I nod approvingly.
He says, “mommy, birdie sorry. Birdie want hug.”
I say, “well, you better give him a hug then and tell him that you love him.”
Sam tenderly picks birdie up and gives him a hug and a kiss. He then tells me that birdie wants to color, goes over to his crayon box and stuffs birdie into the box and shuts the lid.
It’s a good thing Sam’s not the parent.
