“Do you want me to start counting to three?” I ask in a stern voice.”No, Mommy, please don’t count to three!” “Then I need you to use your in-door voice and to use your words.” I tell my soon to be three year old. Three is already known as a lucky number and often appears in fairy tales and animal fables such as “The Three Little Pigs,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “Three Billy Goats Gruff.”
In my household and probably many others, it’s also known for getting a toddler or pre-schooler to stop, listen and follow directions. For instance, at bedtime, my little girl loves jumping on the bed and wants to play around after her bath pretending to be a ghost with her bath towel and delaying getting her pajamas on and brushing her teeth. No matter how much fun she’s having, more times than not, she’ll come running towards her father or me to get her pajamas on once she hears, “One!” Thus far, we’ve just had a handful of incidents where Quinn challenges the magical countdown to see what will happen if she does not come. This is when our “I Can Do It Reward” star chart comes in handy and occasionally having her take some time out to think about why it is important to listen and how her behavior has upset her father or me is necessary but not often.
On occasion, I imagine using the one, two, three technique in my classroom or even with people who just don’t listen or who are displaying unbecoming behaviors. How great would it be to solve problems and get people to stop, listen and follow directions just by sternly saying, “One, two, three!”
All the best,
Tanya
It’s a rainy day and too stormy to go outside and splash around in a few puddles with my little girl. We’ve played games, build towers with Legos and started doing some Easter decorating, but she’s still full of energy and says, “Can we have a shake break next, Mommy?” No, this is not a milkshake; it’s actually a fun, age-appropriate exercise video for young children that I found on Youtube.
“It’s a nice day! Can we go to the park today, Mommy?” my little girl asked. Though it’s February, I honored her request on this unseasonably warm Monday, and this outing conjured up some childhood memories of my own while my daughter had fun and asked to get on the “big kid” swing all by hersel.
While it was only a little over a year and a half ago that my little girl began putting together two and three word sentences, it seems like she’s been talking since day one. My soon to be three year old (in May of this year) has become so articulate, has questions about everything and wants to share information about everything too. This has been a wonderful experience because we’re having actual conversations where she is responding and engaged in what we’re talking about. She’ll ask me, “How was your day, Mommy?” or “Did you have a good night’s sleep?” When I tell her we will be going somewhere, she’ll ask, “Are we going to Target?” This is one of her favorite stores.
“May I have two spoons of sugar please?” I ask. “Yes, you may.” My little girl says as she uses her little spoon and scoops the imaginary sugar into my teacup. I just loved having tea parties when I was a little girl, and now I get to enjoy them with my little girl. It’s such a wonderful way to not only interact with one another but to improve her vocabulary, ability to follow directions and expand her imagination. Initially, she would just ask if I wanted some tea. Now, she will say, “What would you like with your tea? Do you want a heart shaped cookie or a round cookie?”
Mommy's Baby Steps 