My Strong Willed Child

 

 

The other day Lyla and I went to the park with Kevin, and these are the only two pictures I was able to take before whisking her off the playground and forcing her little butt to go back home.  Don't let that smile and those pigtails fool you, this girl is a sassy one.  She is one smart cookie and tests her boundaries all. the. TIME.

 

I've said a lot of prayers for my baby girl in her 18 months, and among many other things have prayed for her to be strong and confident, to have a strong drive and that she always knows exactly what she wants and goes after it.  (Having suffered from a bad case of indecisiveness all my life I hoped she would be able to avoid that.)  As days go by and I see her little personality developing I can see exactly these things coming out...which I now realize will be so good for her in the long run but probably very hard for her parents over the next 18+ years.  Sigh.

 

Going back to the park the other day, she is getting really good at climbing around that playground by herself and I can finally start to trust that she isn't going to accidentally trip and fly 15 feet off the dang thing.  For the longest time it was a heart attack waiting to happen for me, so I'm glad we're past that point.  However, she now thinks it's hilarious to run straight at those open areas, grab the bars and stick her little body as far over the edge as possible, then stick out a foot too.  I mean, one wrong move and she's asking for a broken leg!  Not to mention finally giving her poor mama a legit heart attack.  So now as soon as she does that I pack her up and send her little booty back home.  Unfortunately she hasn't really figured out she's being punished.  Or else she just doesn't care?  They say consistency is the key with this discipline thing, right?  So one day maybe one day she will actually listen to me.  Right??

 

For the time being I've started on a journey with Dr. James Dobson and The Strong Willed Child.  Wish me luck.

 

- K