I have sort of a laundry list of things that are making me anxious and are wondering what you all think about them (he'll be 2 in April):
1. DS will occasionally hit himself in the head. This seems to correlate to us telling him he shouldn't or can't do something or another. It's almost like he's frustrated that either he can't remember that he shouldn't do that, or perhaps he's frustrated that he can't eat crayons/throw his fork/whatever because he really wants to. He will also shriek instead at the same situations. Part of me thinks he's doing either thing to get a reaction, because we keep telling him to stop doing THAT instead of the thing we were telling him not to do before that, you know? Would it help to try to ignore it, I wonder?
2. He has lots of words, but not a lot of language, if that makes sense. He loves, loves, loves to read books, both him "reading" himself and us reading to him, and even knows his letters, shapes, colors, and numbers already. He was just a little bit later talking than his classmates at day care, but nothing concerning. However, now, talking seems to still be more of a parlor trick than a tool, as he will still whine (but not always, which is why it's more frustrating) if he wants something instead of just telling us what exactly he wants. I try not to give into this, I really do - but frankly, sometimes he just outlasts my whining quotient and I just give him what he probably wanted. I also try harder to give him choices so that he's used to voicing his opinion. Sometimes in our highly scheduled life, he just doesn't get that opportunity, so we're trying.
3. He seems to sleep less than other toddlers I know. He goes to bed at 8 PM (I can't even imagine him going to bed earlier than that) and wakes up at 5 AM, sometimes even before. (We co-sleep, if that matters.) He usually takes anywhere from a 2-3 hour nap at day care. We're in the process of getting them to cut the naps a bit shorter to see if that helps, that hasn't seemed to make too much of a difference yet.
Sorry, that was long, any thoughts you'd have on any of the above would be greatly appreciated. *sigh* Babies are easier, this toddler stuff may kill me...
1. DS will occasionally hit himself in the head. This seems to correlate to us telling him he shouldn't or can't do something or another. It's almost like he's frustrated that either he can't remember that he shouldn't do that, or perhaps he's frustrated that he can't eat crayons/throw his fork/whatever because he really wants to. He will also shriek instead at the same situations. Part of me thinks he's doing either thing to get a reaction, because we keep telling him to stop doing THAT instead of the thing we were telling him not to do before that, you know? Would it help to try to ignore it, I wonder?
2. He has lots of words, but not a lot of language, if that makes sense. He loves, loves, loves to read books, both him "reading" himself and us reading to him, and even knows his letters, shapes, colors, and numbers already. He was just a little bit later talking than his classmates at day care, but nothing concerning. However, now, talking seems to still be more of a parlor trick than a tool, as he will still whine (but not always, which is why it's more frustrating) if he wants something instead of just telling us what exactly he wants. I try not to give into this, I really do - but frankly, sometimes he just outlasts my whining quotient and I just give him what he probably wanted. I also try harder to give him choices so that he's used to voicing his opinion. Sometimes in our highly scheduled life, he just doesn't get that opportunity, so we're trying.
3. He seems to sleep less than other toddlers I know. He goes to bed at 8 PM (I can't even imagine him going to bed earlier than that) and wakes up at 5 AM, sometimes even before. (We co-sleep, if that matters.) He usually takes anywhere from a 2-3 hour nap at day care. We're in the process of getting them to cut the naps a bit shorter to see if that helps, that hasn't seemed to make too much of a difference yet.
Sorry, that was long, any thoughts you'd have on any of the above would be greatly appreciated. *sigh* Babies are easier, this toddler stuff may kill me...
and sometimes it IS what she wanted, or is at least something that she'll go for.
Mary
