Argh! The quizzing!

[seraph]

I have a 1 year old and she's a pretty smart little bean if I do say so myself, but my mother is driving me crazy quizzing her all the time. "Where's your nose? Where's Kaia's nose? Where's your ear? Can you point to your shoes?" It makes me crazy! She's one! She's not a pet monkey! It feels really disrespectful to me. I get so annoyed and I haven't said anything yet because I know I will blow up about it. I need a calm way to point out to her that what she is doing is annoying and rude to the baby and she would be irritated if someone did it to her. I guess I just needed to vent.

[eilonwy]

Does your daughter object to it? We play this game all the time, and Eli was thrilled and amazed to discover that his cousins could play the same game (he still thinks Mommy is omniscient :LOL). He really likes it, and when he's tired of playing he stops. I would think that as long as your daughter isn't protesting that she's enjoying the attention and having fun playing a game. If your mother was "putting her on display" that would be a little different -- for example, having company over and saying "Look how smart my grandbaby is!" and trying to coerce your daughter into showing off. It doesn't sound that sinister the way you describe it though. Why does it bother you so much, if I may ask?

[seraph]

That's the difference - my daughter doesn't want to play. She gives my mom a puzzled look and goes back to what she is doing. My mom is trying to teach her body parts, but I figure she will learn when she is willing and interested. What bugs me about it is the way my mom gets all in her face, like she needs to know this now or she will get behind somehow.

[eilonwy]

Yeah, that's different. Perhaps you could find a book of child development and point out to her that the average two year old only knows a few body parts? I can't remember what the charts say anymore, but there are loads of places to look this stuff up. Or you could suggest other activities to your mother, like "painting" with a washcloth on the sidewalk (most kids love this!) or some other age-appropriate game. I'm going to go with the most optimistic thought, namely that your mother is just looking for things to do & ways to interact with your daughter.