Can we please get thru the terrible two's soon!

And she's not even 2 yet!

It's been a month or maybe even 2 since Swara stopped being the delighfully obedient child at all times. Now I'm watching her throw the same kind of tantrums that I've herad other mothers talk about when their child went thru this phase. And it's the same kind of things that make them all mad. It's like toddlers are intiated into a secret society where they are taught to throw the same kind of tantrums for the same reasons :)

Now I've done my research, talked to people and what not to find a solution. But of course, not all the kids are the same and what works with one child won't work with another. I know I'm making it sound like I've got a huge problem but it actually isn't so bad now. But I'm afraid it'll get worse if I don't control it and therefore am trying to nip it in the bud.

The most common reason a toddler would throw a tatrum is when they don't get what the want immediately. So I realized there were 3 things I could do. I could either let her cry it out and express all her frustration, I could reason out with her like I would treat another adult or I would distract her! By now, I've tried all these 3 methods. And the winner is ..... None! If I let Swara cry it out, she would only continue to be whiny and fussy the whole while. If I talked to her like an adult, well she's not an adult, so she dosent get it! And by distracting her, I was only putting a temporary fix to the problem. This was when it struck me, I should hear from a professional. So I hit the library! And I picked up 3 different books on the topic - The Happiest Toddler on the Block, What to Expect - The toddler years and Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. What I did learn was the 'cavekid' theory. Children don't understand adult language and so we have to speak to them in their own language. For instance if Swara could not wait her turn to get on the horse in the mall and yelled 'No amma, horsey, horsey , horsey'. I had to mimick her feelings by saying the same things back to her in the SAME tone so I got her attention. And then after I did get her attention, I was supposed to explain to her that she had to wait her turn because the little boy was riding and she shouldn't push him off and that if she waited instead, she'd become a big girl. Or something like that. Now I haven't tried this yet, mainly because I dont know how people would react to a grown woman shouting like a little child. But I'd like to try this at home first and see how she responds. And if it does work, great. But if it dosent, I wont be let down because I'm still the mother of a smart, beautiful, loving child!

Our tiny human being

It's been a while since I blogged again. And it's not that I don't have anything to say. I have tons to write about, especially about my baby and our journey raising her. So when I did come across a random blog written by a mother about her motherhood, it was a wake up call! We all have these wonderful experiences and events in life, be it good or bad, small or large. And we all think, "Boy am I going to remember this day forever". But it so happens that some of our minds (mine for sure) are incapable of remembering every event that takes place. And this is why I decided to write again.

Today's post is a happy one. We all know that as parents, some days we feel like we're doing an awesome job and some days we feel like we've been defeated. But those defeats don't matter when you first see your child ride her bike all by herself, or recite a nursery rhyme by herself, or say "thank you" to her music teacher at the end of the class without being prompted to do so. Today's joy comes from how Swara identified all the alphabets from the book by herself. Yes! All by herself! And the wonderful thing is that for Swara it was so much fun. She loves learning and loves books. The minute she wakes up, she runs to her book collection and brings me her books to read, one by one until I've had enough. Such is her love her books and she sure did not inherit it from Kartik or me. Anyway, that made life easy while trying to teach her the alphabet. [Highly recommend the fun but educational Leapfrog DVDs]

I know one thing for sure, I'm not going to be one of those pushy moms and direct Swara to do things I want her to do. Instead, we're going to expose her to a world of opportunities and let her decide what she wants and likes and support her through it. Cause I want her to be her own tiny human being. So if its books she loves, then it's a library we're getting her!