It's one thing ignoring your baby's screams as they fight their naps or some other action that bothers them but, I have discovered, it's quite another when your toddler's bloodcurdling suddenly starts to wrap itself around words.
"Muuummmmmyyyy!!!!" is much harder to ignore than "Waaaaa!" for instance. It demands your attention, specifically. It says "I need you!" and refusing to come to the call is basically saying, "I know, but I'm ignoring you anyway." Ack.
Similarly, crying in the car for what would appear to be no apparent reason is not the same as "Binkieeee! Binkieee! Binkieee!" wailed at you through crocodile tears and spit-sputtering. We used to be able to ignorant and say stuff like "What's wrong, baby? What do you need?" but now we get an answer to our questions and we're forced to specifically deny the request.
There are a whole slew of examples like this recently and even my ability to detach my emotions from rational thought is challenged by some of the cries.
Sometimes, however, it's just hard to keep a straight face. When your toddler sounds like a Jewish grandmother bemoaning the state of the world ("Ohhhhdear! Ohhhhhdear! Ohhhhhdear!") you can't help but smile through their "pain".
4 comments:
I have heard about this phase: it's the phase where they test your limits to see how much they can manipulate you. Is that your experience?
I realized someone recently though. While I play the "ignored" part to my kids, they have learned that mommy doesn't always answer them/acknolwedge them when they call. Thus they have learned that it's ok to not answer ME back. Not really something I actually like seeing. Nowadays I will at least answer them instead of ignoring them because I do not want to call them 10x without even a mere "yes?" Just a thought...
I should clarify what I mean by "ignoring". I'm talking about when we put her down for a nap or bed and she's trying to buck us or she's throwing a tantrum or something. Very rarely do I completely *ignore* Daisy. I agree with you, CBCYouth, you should respond when someone addresses you politely.
@e - well OF COURSE. It's a delicate balancing act between rewarding inappropriate behavior that is just designed to push your buttons and get a reaction, and setting up healthy communication patterns.
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