Psychic Toddler

My daughter woke up on Saturday morning singing "Baby Chalk Baby Chalk Won't You Come Out and See Us?" to the tune of Jingle Bells.

Sort of has a nice ring to it... Chalk. (Can you tell we still don't really have a name?).

But more importantly, aren't kids amazing? Sure, she's seen the swing, co-sleeper, and clothes strewn about my room, and we've had a few talks about the baby coming and where he will sleep and how much he will cry.

And she nods. And smiles. And then goes back to playing with her barbies.

EEK.

But then she'll sing that silly song. Or tell me, "I'm going to be a big sister mommy!" out of the total blue. Or draw this amazing picture.

And then I realize that kids take in so much more than we can even really comprehend -- which, by all accounts, is extremely scary and is motivation for all us to be just the more vigilant about how we talk, act, and exist.

I digress (that's a whole other post, eh?)

But on the other side of this, she's become quite an attention hog -- talking loudly, interrupting us, and demanding our full and undivided attention. The attention that for 2.5 years she's had all to herself.

And so there are new lessons to be learned around here and new models of behavior to be set. The challenge (at least for us) is that I have to deal with the in-laws and their crappy, negative, and many times inappropriate responses.

It's like a parenting obstacle course around here.

How do you parent with so many negative influences around? Do you watch how you react/interact with people around you when your kids are around? How much of a filter do you put on?

Comments

[Amy]

I put a huge filter on around my kids. I still occassionally swear (who doesn't), but I have taught them that when I say those things, they are "bad words", and actually have them tell me "Don't say that mommy!" to correct myself, and prevent them from copying. Attitude-wise, I try almost to picture myself third-person; watching what I am doing and seeing how they might perceive it. I lay on the politeness, saying please and thank you, holding doors for people, telling people to have a nice day, smiling. Even when I don't feel like it. Grin and bear it when it's not so nice, and take the time to explain to them that what the person said/did wasn't nice. Even with the in-laws. They hear and see every single thing you ever do or say, maybe even moreso when they're not in the same room and you think it's safe. LOL!