Small recently turned 4. PHEWF!! I've been waiting for the 3s to be over! Smokes, that was a tough haul!! Sure, he was cute and cuddly and adorable...but he was also a disaster when he didn't get his way....OFTEN!!
If I hear the word, NO yelled at me once more...!!! Well, I can't finish that sentence because it's probably not legal...and besides, I was saturated with it by 3pm today so it's not like it just magically disappeared when he turned 4.
But, the 2 hour tantrums and hissy fits have definitely subsided and MAN!! Is that ever a relief!!!
The best part, though, is that he WANTS to be a big boy and he WANTS to act like a 4 year old. It's like a little piece of heaven to have something to dangle over his head...
Case in point:
The other day, he was flat out refusing to eat dinner. No problem. Go to bed hungry. It's not a new one for me!
He didn't get the answer he wanted so he gave me the full on stink eye, arms folded, shoulder shrug, 'I'M NOT GOING TO DO WHAT YOU SAY! HARUMPH!!!" followed by the chuck of the plate across the table.
<sigh> Back to square 3 year old!
So I responded with a not as awesome stink eye, arms folded, shoulder shrug, "THAT'S WHAT 3 YEAR OLDS DO!! FOUR YEAR OLDS EAT THEIR DINNER! HARUMPH!!"
And I waited....
And I waited...
And I waited...
The whole time, I could see that little brain ticking.....and slowly....very slowly....the stink eye (which I have to say, this kid has PERFECTED!!!!), loosened up....the arms started to unfold....and he said,
"Ok, I'll eat my dinner!"
And he did!! Every last bit of it!!
Trust me, I'll be using the 4 year old status quo Every. Chance. I. Get!!!! Survival of the fittest, baby!
Thursday 28 February 2013
A Sea of Pink!
Yesterday was pink shirt day. I bought Big the cutest pink shirt and fully expected him to revolt against it! He probably would have if I hadn't asked his teacher to tell him she wanted him to wear it. I was pleasantly surprised when the first thing he did that morning was run around screaming, "Where's my pink shirt?? I need my pink shirt!!"
On the way to school, I decided to tell my kids the story of the pink shirt. If you're not aware of it, it goes like this...
A boy went to school one day wearing a pink shirt. A group of kids decided to pick on him and make fun of him for wearing said pink shirt. Another group of kids watched the kid get bullied and decided to take a stand against bullying. They started a protest and encouraged as many kids as they could to show up at school wearing pink shirts. They even went out and bought as many shirts as they could the night before to pass out to kids in the school. I'm not sure what the final tally was on the rally day but it was definitely over 50 and more than enough to make a point.
After I told my kids the story, I asked them a bunch of questions about bullying and why it's not nice to say mean things to people. We talked about how the original kid felt when he was made fun of and how he felt after he saw all the other kids wearing pink shirts. We also talked about how the kids that organized the protest felt for helping their friend, etc.
But after I was done making my points, I decided to ask them who they would rather be like. Would they rather be like the boy who was bullied, or the bullies themselves...or would they rather be like the kids that organized the protest or the kids that followed along with the protest?
They both thought for a minute and then Small said, "Mommy, I'd rather just be me!"
Point taken, little man!! Well said!
But then Big said, "Actually, I'd like to be like the kids that organized the protest. Because I'd want to stand up for my friend who was getting hurt and I wouldn't want him to feel sad. I'd want to stand up against the bullies!"
And you know? That's exactly what I expected him to say. He's cool like that!
After about 5 minutes of silence in the car, though (it's a bit of a drive to school :) ), Big said, "Mommy, do you think the bullies might have worn a pink shirt after that day, too?"
I said, "I'm not sure, buddy. What do you think?"
He said, "I think they felt bad about making the other kid sad and they probably realized they were being mean and maybe they wanted to stand up against bullies, too!"
Wow. There are no words. That kid is wise beyond his 6 years....
On the way to school, I decided to tell my kids the story of the pink shirt. If you're not aware of it, it goes like this...
A boy went to school one day wearing a pink shirt. A group of kids decided to pick on him and make fun of him for wearing said pink shirt. Another group of kids watched the kid get bullied and decided to take a stand against bullying. They started a protest and encouraged as many kids as they could to show up at school wearing pink shirts. They even went out and bought as many shirts as they could the night before to pass out to kids in the school. I'm not sure what the final tally was on the rally day but it was definitely over 50 and more than enough to make a point.
After I told my kids the story, I asked them a bunch of questions about bullying and why it's not nice to say mean things to people. We talked about how the original kid felt when he was made fun of and how he felt after he saw all the other kids wearing pink shirts. We also talked about how the kids that organized the protest felt for helping their friend, etc.
But after I was done making my points, I decided to ask them who they would rather be like. Would they rather be like the boy who was bullied, or the bullies themselves...or would they rather be like the kids that organized the protest or the kids that followed along with the protest?
They both thought for a minute and then Small said, "Mommy, I'd rather just be me!"
Point taken, little man!! Well said!
But then Big said, "Actually, I'd like to be like the kids that organized the protest. Because I'd want to stand up for my friend who was getting hurt and I wouldn't want him to feel sad. I'd want to stand up against the bullies!"
And you know? That's exactly what I expected him to say. He's cool like that!
After about 5 minutes of silence in the car, though (it's a bit of a drive to school :) ), Big said, "Mommy, do you think the bullies might have worn a pink shirt after that day, too?"
I said, "I'm not sure, buddy. What do you think?"
He said, "I think they felt bad about making the other kid sad and they probably realized they were being mean and maybe they wanted to stand up against bullies, too!"
Wow. There are no words. That kid is wise beyond his 6 years....
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