The Pushing Phase

It's a shame that kids don't come with a manual.  You may remember the post I wrote way back when about Princess being pushed by another tot.  I was pissed, I can't front.  It's one thing when you hear that your child was pushed, but it's a whole other ball game seeing it all go down.  However, the tables have since turned.

Now Princess is the one doing the shoving.  She's made a bunch of friends at daycare.  They roll pretty tight around campus.  But, they have a tendency to push each other.  It happens so often, I lose track of who pushed first.  I know this is a phase.  I know Princess will grow out of it.  But, I think it's important to teach her right from wrong.

I dropped her off at daycare the other day, and as I was leaving I saw Princess shove one of her friends.

"That's not nice.  Say you're sorry!" I demanded.
"No." She responded.
"If you don't say you're sorry, then no TV tonight."  I said.

I asked myself, What the heck did I just do?  But, then I realized that she has to learn one way or another.  She's officially on punishment.  On my way home, I called my mom and filled her in on the plan of action.  We decided no TV for one hour should teach her a lesson.  Plus, she had to read this anti-bullying book with Grandma.

Sure enough when they got home later that evening, my mom said Princess was having so much fun reading.  I thought being on punishment is supposed to be torture.  That wasn't the case for my little girl.  Grandma asked if she understood why she couldn't watch TV, Princess answered yes.  I won't read into this thing too deeply.  As long as she understands why, that's all I care about.  She also read a ton of other books with Grandma.

I think she forgot all about watching TV.  Hopefully, there'll be no more episodes of pushing.


Has your little one gone through this phase? Have you ever put your toddler on punishment?

Weather Anchor Mama

True Friends Are Hard to Find

It was so hard for me to make friends growing up.  Believe it or not, it still is.  I always felt different from everyone else.  Moving to the U.S. from the islands wasn't easy.  I had a thick accent and the only thing I knew about the American culture was what I saw on TV.  Now that I'm grown, I've outgrown my insecurities.  I find it much easier to meet new people.  But, it's still tough to make friends.  Let's face it, not everyone is genuine.  You have those who are opportunists.  You have those who become conditional or fair-weather friends.  I'm talking about the kind of people who are there when things are great.  But, the minute you fall on hard times, they bounce.  Then you have the fakers.  The ones who seem like they're your friends, but they end up talking about you behind your back.  They may even try to rip you off.

These are the kinds of people I'll have to teach Princess to stay away from.  Like Oprah says, "Listen to your inner voice."  If you get the feeling someone isn't genuine or has bad intentions, chances are you're absolutely right.

Princess is fortunate to have friends of her own.   Here she is with her bestie, Katie.

I love seeing them play together.  I know they're just tots.  But, I can already tell that this little girl is a true friend.  There are days Princess cries when I drop her off at daycare.  Katie would try to soothe her by giving her hugs and holding hands.  It's so cute to watch.  But, it makes feel great knowing that she has a buddy who wants to see her happy.  As she gets older, I can only hope that she chooses true friends.  Clearly, she already has.

Do you teach your kids about true friendship?

Weather Anchor Mama