Caveman Communication

I kind of expected this.

B has been the baby of the family for longer than any of the other kids, and she has reveled in that role. I thought she might be a tad bit jealous toward K, maybe even hostile. Well, she's still excited about her brother and wants to hold him, feed him, pat his head like he's a dog, etc. But . . . we are experiencing a little of what those child behavior books call regression, I think.

First, there have been the tantrums. Every day. Every day for three weeks now. She never threw more than a couple of tantrums total as a toddler, but boy, we are getting it now. Ugh!!!

Then, there has been the refusal to talk. On frequent occasions she has been reverting to grunting and vigorous head-shaking when she wants something (or doesn't.) I got so tired of it today that I grunted and gesticulated back at her, hoping that she'd get a clue (or at least laugh at me and forget she didn't want to talk.) Nope, instead I got a full-blown tantrum in return. *sigh*

Finally, today she has also gone back to latching herself onto my leg. I was trying to whip through the dishes really quick while K was being entertained by M, and B just locked her arms around my legs and made me drag her around the kitchen. Maybe she was just showing me some Valentine's love?

Where has my oh-so-independent preschooler gone, and when will she return??????

Comments

Kaycee said…
oh man how frustrating! I hope her phase that she is going through will end soon. Luckly it's just a phase.
Brooke said…
Just give her the extra attention she is craving, even if the dishes do need to suffer. She won't be in that stage for too long, comparatively speaking, but it will take longer to get out of it if she doesn't feel like she's getting adequate attention. (Just my opinion from experience with my 3rd who has needed more attention since the 4th child arrived.) Whenever I do have a spare moment I try to give it to the 3rd child, since he's the one who seems to need it the most. The 2 older kids are much more independent, and obviously the baby already gets a lot of attention, because he's the baby, but the 2-4 year olds need some extra attention too, and it pays to give it to them whenever you can to cut down on the tantrums and other annoying behaviour.
Anonymous said…
Sounds like you'd better put your psychological skills to work here, mom!?
Abby said…
I love the image of you grunting and gesticulating at your toddler. It amuses me to no end.

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