What to do when your dc insists something is right when it isn't? - Page 2

[moonmama22]

Pat -
you put it so well. My 3.5 yo does the same thing - sometimes I will tell him the right answer once, but if he insists, just change the subject. Usually he states things the other way though - I will say something, and he will say, "Nope, you're wrong Mama - ha-ha - I'm right and you're wrong." I don't know where he learned that, but I have to just bite my tongue and tell him that is not a nice way to speak to others...

[Arduinna]

Yes, 3 year olds are exploring and learning the power of words and how they relate to the world around them. Which is why IMO arguing with them that they are wrong or trying to prove they are wrong is totally missing the point.

[lisarussell]

If it were my kid I would say "OH, I always thought Orangutans were in the Ape family, that's interesting, let's look it up.

Looking it up removes the argument aspect, so it isn't a battle of wills but a pursuit of knowledge together. plus he learns how to look things up.

[Lillian J]

Something I've noticed about 3 yr. olds is that they're searching for ways to feel more powerful in the world. That seems to be the age of the superhero capes and the age of the most enthusiastic imaginative play with action figures and toys they can work out struggles with. Their little bodies are moving from babyhood toward a new phase of childhood as they come into their fourth year, which may have something to do with why 4 yr. olds often go through a little preview peek at what adolescence may look like. Is there anything in the world cuter than 3 yr. old knees? I can't think of anything . But then those particular little knees disappear as the body grows into the fourth year. So where I'm going with this is that I think 3 yr. olds, in a stage between a baby and what's to come, are looking for ways of feeling stronger and more self-assured - so wanting to be right about something they thought they knew seems like a perfectly natural part of that. It's a very active time for the imagination, so it's a good time to just let them be with it and not worry about a need to correct them. Lillian

[elizawill]

Originally Posted by Lillian J

Something I've noticed about 3 yr. olds is that they're searching for ways to feel more powerful in the world. That seems to be the age of the superhero capes and the age of the most enthusiastic imaginative play with action figures and toys they can work out struggles with. Their little bodies are moving from babyhood toward a new phase of childhood as they come into their fourth year, which may have something to do with why 4 yr. olds often go through a little preview peek at what adolescence may look like. Is there anything in the world cuter than 3 yr. old knees? I can't think of anything . But then those particular little knees disappear as the body grows into the fourth year. So where I'm going with this is that I think 3 yr. olds, in a stage between a baby and what's to come, are looking for ways of feeling stronger and more self-assured - so wanting to be right about something they thought they knew seems like a perfectly natural part of that. It's a very active time for the imagination, so it's a good time to just let them be with it and not worry about a need to correct them. Lillian

lillian, i couldn't agree more (especially about their cute kness! lol)