Xander Week 88 - Where are the manners???
August 11, 2008
Lately Xander has turned into a very fresh little toddler. One of his favorite sentences is “I need it” or “I need it now”. Not to mention the directives “Sit Mom”, “Eat Dad”, “Mom, drink”, etc. My least favorite is “Stop Mom” and he covers my mouth with his hand when he wants me to stop talking. Unfortunately, this usually catches me off guard, so I’m rendered speechless for a few seconds, which of course means he’s achieved his goal.
I keep explaining how these are not nice, and hurt people’s feelings, make sad faces, etc. But it doesn’t seem to change the behavior. I don’t think Xander is doing these things to intentionally be rude. Usually if he tells us to eat, it’s because he’s eating, and he wants to be doing what we’re doing. When he tells us to sit, it’s because he wants us to sit on the floor and play with him. The “Stop Dad (or Mom)” one is the most rude, and we’re working on stopping that behavior before it gets out of hand, but I’m just surprised at how quickly he learned these phrases and their effects.
That being said, he is still a very sweet little kid - always making sure to share with us, whether it’s potato chips or a soggy piece of grilled cheese from his plate. He’s not generally naughty, and usually listens when we ask him not to do things (though he definitely does test his boundaries on a regular basis). Ocassionally he’ll use an unprompted “please” or “thank you” and he’ll always say it when prompted. Just the other day he gave Zach an unprompted hug and “I love you” which I think might have been the sweetest thing in the world ;-) I’m just not sure how to teach this little guy about manners… Anyone have any suggestions?