Yesterday was my sister-in-law’s baby shower. Wil and I took turns chasing Ari up and down a large set of stairs. I was running out of steam, fast. My mom and dad provided relief services as well, pushing Ari in the outdoor swing and making him laugh.
While chasing my spark plug around, I met a woman at the shower named Julie. I let it slip that I was frustrated because I have a hard time getting Ari to stay away from dangerous activities. Whenever I take him away from a situation where he could injure himself, he screams.
Julie has an 8 year old. She remembered the 2’s vividly. She had this to say:
“What you have to do, is make it fun. If you’re insisting that he do what you want him to do, he’s going to resist. Make it fun!”
With this simple statement, I realized that I was approaching my child in a way that wasn’t working. I was telling him: Do this! Because I said so. Instead of insisting, I could find ways to laugh at the situation, and make it fun.
