Sammy, the pen is for writing on paper, not my desk.
DON'T LOOK AT ME, MOMMY.
Sammy, your dirty napkin goes in the trash, not on the cat.
DON'T LOOK AT ME, MOMMY.
Sammy, food is for eating, not spreading on your shirt.
DON'T LOOK AT ME, MOMMY.
Sammy, you're making grunting noises; do you need to use the potty?
DON'T LOOK AT ME, MOMMY.
The funny thing is, if I ask her, "Are you telling me not to look at you because you want to go ahead and do the wrong thing?" she'll answer honestly, YES. Testing, testing, testing - that is her job. Being consistent, consistent, consistent - that is mine.
Same thing is happening with my 3 year old. He likes to put WAY too much toothpaste on his toothbrush -- and will even attempt to suck the paste right out of the tube on occasion. So, several times in the last couple of weeks, I've seen him putting a huge blob of paste on the brush and/or taking steps towards sucking on the toothpaste tube, and made some noise like "ahem" -- to which his response is "don't look at me daddy". And, like you, I just asked: "Do you want me to look away so I don't see you sucking the toothpaste out of the tube?" And he just answered, honestly, "Yes." So then I explained why it's not a good thing to do, whether I see it or not, etc. Anyway, it is very funny that they start to develop a more sophisticated "theory of mind" and so are able to start understanding the perspective of other people, etc., and even start experimenting with something like deceit -- but admit to it openly as if it weren't anything to be embarrassed about.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome to hear, Travis. Isn't it great to realize that this behavior is not a sign of an evil child? That this is NORMAL! It really is cool how they have to learn every single thing, including, as you say, the awareness of other people's perspective.
ReplyDelete