Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Independence vs boundries

My daughter is very independent. “Do it self” is a phrase we hear a lot at our house. And it is getting to be so extreme that A doesn’t ask us for anything – she just goes and gets it/does it herself. Need a drink of water? Just go get the pitcher off the counter and pour yourself a glass. Want a cup of chocolate pudding out the fridge? Just go get something. Need some pretzels? Just go get the bag off the counter and help yourself. This would all be well and good except that, well, she’s only two years old. And sometimes the attempts to get things for herself don’t always work out. The full pitcher of water – all over the floor. Which is just as well because the glasses she tried to pour water in were dirty (like crusty milk in the bottom dirty). And I’m kind of at a loss as to the correct response to this. At one level, I want to encourage her independence and her “go get it” attitude. On the other hand, I don’t want her to get hurt because she tried to cut something herself. Or get chocolate pudding all over the place, for another. How do I encourage independence while simultaneously setting boundaries. And with out making her spend even more time in the naughty corner? Why does parenting have to be so hard? Does anyone know?

1 comment:

Tina said...

I wish I had a helpful comment, but as a mother of a 2 and a 4 year old, all I can say is... if you figure out the whole setting boundaries while fostering independence dilemma... please let me know!