Guns and Guts

Baby With a ‘Tude!

February 17th, 2009

Well, little Miss Brookie is starting to develop a bit of an attitude at times. Heh. She really, really, does not like having something taken away from her, when she is interested in it, and apparently she is not liking being spoon fed all that much now.

If she will allow being spoon fed, there sure as heck better be another spoon for her to hold on to, and possibly one for each hand. God forbid, you try to take her spoons away either. The wrath of the God’s will soon be unleashed, within about two seconds. She is training us well. /sigh

I think this stems from her desire to feed herself, which is a good sign of her, early motivation for some degree of independence. The fact that she slings any food on a spoon you hand to her across the kitchen, is not a negative in her view of course.

She is also mastering the stiff board, sling yourself backwards, fit-throwing move. It is amazing how painful getting smacked in the face by an angry baby’s head is. It is kind of like getting punched in the face.

Last night, she decided, it would be fun to sit on Daddy’s neck while I was laying down, and practice her slamming technique on my belly. So for about five minutes she sat there laughing in my face, and then propelling herself backwards at mach 1.2. Every groan from the wind being knocked out of me, elicited a gleeful response. She loves wrestling with Daddy already, and I eat it up. It is interesting that she knows she can be rougher with me than Mommy. There are boundaries that have to be learned though, so I have to think about that, when she starts smacking me in the face as a fun game.

So far, she is not getting that a stern “No”, or “No Ma’am” is a serious thing. Every time we have done so, she laughs intensely. She is only ten months old after all.

Her pediatrician actually asked about some of this behavior yesterday, to see if it was starting, as is typical. She gave us some tips on how to deal with it. Right now her little fits are cute, but she also has teeth and packs a pretty mean slap when she wants to. There is of course no malice currently in her “violence” as it were, but teaching her that hitting and biting in any situation is not acceptable, is something that is important.

I was a biter as a child, and know how much of a problem that was for my poor mother, when she would get a call from school, because I had latched on to some poor soul, when they evoked my anger. I was bad enough to break the skin a few times. Avoiding that type of thing, is a goal for us, with our little angel.

She plays very well with her friends at day care right now, and we want her to continue that. With no siblings, it serves as a good place for socialization, and a place to learn about sharing and all the wonderful things that civilized people have to do, to be an accepted member of their society.

I have written about the responsibility of being a parent before, and was guilty of saying things like, “Wow, what horrible parents that child must have” in the past. It is easy to judge people, when you have not walked in their shoes. Some children are problem kids. I know I was. Brookie shows no sign of being a problem child thus far. Honestly, she is the happiest, laid back baby I have ever encountered. As long as her basic needs are met to her liking, she is generally happy, and ready to play. We are lucky here. Her upset spells are few and far between, and we, so far, know what triggers them.

So now, we are officially beyond the infant stage. Our baby girl is actually starting to test boundaries, and she is counting on us to clearly lay them out for her. She has no knowledge of what they are, or should be, so we have to teach her.

As hard as it may be, to set her down in her crib, for doing something wrong repeatedly, it is something we will have to do. I find it difficult to not comfort her the moment any tears come, and the idea of being the cause of her tears, kills me. Discipline really is tougher on the parents than the child. Who wants to see their little one upset, because you won’t let them bang a toy into the TV screen incessantly?

This is where the hard work of parenting begins I think. As hard as staying up all night when she was a little baby was, it is nothing, compared to setting aside one’s own greedy need to please her, and disciplining a child, when you don’t really want to. If it were a perfect world, my little booger, would get whatever she wants, whenever she wants. Reality tells me that this is a recipe for disaster, and what is wrong with a lot of young people today.

We want to raise a well adjusted, intelligent, honest, well charactered, patient, caring, human here. If we do our job, she will be a benefit to society, and not a dreg. Our own self-discipline will be the most crucial aspect of whether or not this happens. Teaching our child how to cope with disappointment, and self control, is a worthy goal, and the job of every parent.

There are of course no guarantees. People are people. You can take them and put them in the best or worst situations, and they sometimes will triumph or fail miserably, even given the best or worst starting position. All we can do is teach her how one should run one’s life, and hope and pray, that she makes good decisions.

Well, once again I find myself wandering down the road of our family’s lives together. It really does fly by. This age is such a fun age. She is learning new things every day. She is waving “bye bye” now, and nearly saying it. She also is working on clapping, and should be walking any day now.

As my friends with kids, like Ted, always tell me. Before you know it, she will be in high school, and going off to college. Guess I better get busy preparing her to do so.

Categories: Life | Tags: brooke