Apr 29 2009
Toddler Logic
When you’re outnumbered four toddlers to two parents, discipline is key. Hubby and I make every effort to be firm and consistent. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to discipline our daughters without laughing when they come up with gems like these:
Me: Why did you just bite your sister?
Cakes: I thought she might bite me so I bit her first.
(See, they’re already figuring out how to use self-defense)
Me: Sue-Sue you need to get out of the baby doll bed right now.
Sue-Sue: No, I’m using it as a boat.
Me: It’s not a boat. It’s for dolls. You’ll break it…. Sue-Sue, get out… Thank you. Now if you get back in there you lose your shoulder ride tonight and I won’t give you a warning.
Sue-Sue: I want a warning. Pleeeeeease. Pleeeeease give me a warning. Mommy can I have a warning?? Don’t take away my warning.
(We have a few silly routines at bedtime, such as a shoulder ride through the hallway. If you behave all day you’re allowed to participate in the various silliness. Apparently Sue-Sue thought “warning” was a name for one of our games.)
My all time favorite moment of toddler logic happened one day after school. The preschool teacher told me about an “incident” with Sue-Sue. At snack time all of my daughters were given water while the rest of the class had juice. I had asked the teachers not to give them apple juice because of the “consequences” later, but the teachers thought I asked them not to give my daughters any juice. Roo, Cakes and Tortilla drank their water. Sue-Sue chucked her cup across the room. When I had some alone time with her our conversation went like this:
Me: Did you throw your glass of water at school today?
Sue-Sue: Yes (What?? She didn’t blame Notme? What a breakthrough)
Me: Why?
Sue-Sue: I didn’t want water. I wanted juice. I said please.
Made sense to me. That’s not to say that we didn’t have a conversation about why you don’t throw your cup, but it’s hard to argue when they’re using the lessons you taught them (such as saying please). Sure we still have a lot to work on, but we’ll get there. In the meantime I’ll just have to turn my head so they don’t see me laughing.
14 Responses to “Toddler Logic”
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*Giggle*
There are so many times when we’re disciplining our 3 year old that I have to turn my back and silently laugh. Goodness, these kids are cute.
My MIL told me when Hubby was in either first grade or kindergarten his teacher had to turn her around and laugh at the “naughty” things Hubby did.. so I guess I know where they get it from.
Lol how cute they are at that age….. I find it hard to discipline mine when she uses her version of logic as well.
I can usually stop myself from laughing if Hubby isn’t around. If we both witness their “logic” then it becomes harder to contain the laughter.
I often have to just walk away. Sam thinks it’s because I’m angry with him. I’ll keep him in the dark for a while. He doesn’t need to know that I walk away because I don’t want him to see me crack up.
Once they find out you think they’re funny you’ve lost all the power.
Thank you for the giggle today. It reminds me of when I was helping with my nephews once (before I had my own) and something they did was bad and my sister in law saw I wasn’t going to be able to keep a straight face, so she kicked me out of the room because if I started laughing, she would have lost all authority (and she would have started laughing too!).
That’s funny. It’s almost as though you were given a time out!
How cute! When my son was a toddler, he spilled a drink outside. He looked surprised that I didn’t jump up to wipe it up like I did when something spilled in the house. I said, “It’s okay. The sun will dry it up.” He looked up at the sun for a minute, then he said, “When is it going to come down and clean it up?”
hahaha this is hilarious, can’t wait for my little one to start talking!
Marilynne: I never thought about pretending to cry if I think I’m going to laugh. Might work.
Caregivingdaughter and Stephanie: Both of your stories made me laugh
boobsr4babies: You’re in for a lot of funny stories when your little one learns to talk.