A new power put to use

Ava is learning to communicate and she loves it. She feels empowered. She can ask for the specific food she wants to eat. She can request the specific television show she wants to watch. She can ask her mama or daddy to drop what they’re doing and come play. She can tell her brother “no”. So many things are now possibilities that weren’t before. Mostly this is all good. However…

She’s also about to turn two. We’re celebrating her birthday this weekend, in fact. You know what they say about two. It often involves the words “terrible” and “tantrums”. Combine the explosion in her ability to communicate with the natural nature of a two year old and you get a child who has discovered how to protest. Loudly. At great length. Complete with tears and wailing. For example, we came in from a walk. Ava wanted to go back outside and I told her that we couldn’t because it was time to get dinner ready. She sat in front of the door and cried for 15 minutes. Then she finally noticed that I wasn’t paying attention and gave up. This is happening more and more frequently. Now it tends to be at least once a day.

Ava is also developing a mama thing. When she asks for milk she wants me to get it for her. If she needs to potty she wants me to take her. When it’s time to get ready for bed she wants me to read the books. And you should see the performance when I leave her at school two mornings a week. At first we indulged her. It didn’t seem like a big deal to just have me take her to the bathroom instead of her daddy. But then it got worse. The insistence on mama instead of daddy started coming more often and the protests became more dramatic. Now, she will simply refuse to use the bathroom unless it’s me. Even if my husband carries her to the bathroom and places her on the potty, she won’t go. The child certainly knows her own mind. I’ve seen her hold it for more than two hours rather than go for her daddy.

I don’t really know what to do about any of this other than to refuse to indulge her. Surely this is a stage that won’t last forever?