Toddler Tricks - 15

Ways to Trick your Baby:

Problem:  Your babies need an object.  Right now.  They need their lovey that they lost somewhere, and you have no idea where it is.  They need some pudding, but you ran out of pudding two days ago.  They absolutely need to pet the neighbor's dog, but the neighbor is not home.  Obviously, as their parent, you have all of these things.  You clearly are just hiding them from the babies out of some adult perversion that gets a kick out of their intense suffering.  Should you not be able to procure the object that is lost, does not exist, or is out, no amount of reasoning with the children will convince them that this monstrosity is not your fault.  You are the parent.  Make it happen.

Solution:  Sometimes, babies will accept that you don't always have the answer, if you make a show of attempting to help them.  Whether the item is lost, doesn't exist, or is gone for the time being, I find that if I can get them listening to me before they hit full-on freak-out mode, we can make searching for the necessary item into a game.  This puts us on the same side.  It's no longer mean mommy who doesn't give out treats that we don't have.  It's mommy and babies setting off in search of treats. 

Are they under the couch?  No.  Are they on the porch?  No.  Let's call out to them!  "Hello!  Hello!  Pudding?  Hello!  Come!  Pudding, come!"  Nope, no answer.  Are they in your room?  No, not here either.  But look what is here!  Your favorite book!  Let's take a break from searching to read this.

And, sometimes, they do forget about the search and move on to other, more attainable, goals.


Ways Your Baby Tricks You:

Problem:  They didn't forget about the lovey, pudding, or puppy that you were never able to find for them.  They're working themselves up into a frenzy over it right now.  They are repeating themselves nonstop in the hopes that you are just not understanding them.

Solution:  Continue to patiently direct their attention to other things.  It may take a long time.  You may feel like it is an exercise in futility, but, eventually, something will catch their attention.  Many times, I think, it's not even that I found something incredibly interesting for them.  It's more likely that they got bored of crying.  I'll take what I can get.  As long as it's not this:

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