Noooo! Walk Around!

Today, I told Alex that we had to go out for a long walk and that we had to take The Green Carriage (a new Jeep lightweight stroller that he doesn't care much for). That brought on a fit. He said he wanted to 'Walk around', which means allowing him to do the walking, which would mean I would not get to the art gallery as I'd planned. It's too far for me to rely on his walking it. I was willing to let the art gallery go today just so I could get out and walk. When he would not relent on the carriage, I brought out his puppy harness and lead, he threw another fit. 'Noooo! Puppy go 'way! Walk around!'. So I informed him that it was either the carriage or the puppy leash. That brought on tears. So I got down onto the floor and told him I wanted to talk to him. He wouldn't come over to me, but he listened as he kept himself wrapped up in the curtains. I told him that the reason why he needs either the leash or the carriage was because it was dangerous for him to walk around outside without them. Mommy had to keep him safe, I argued, and she does that with the carriage or the leash. I went on to explain some of the dangers of his being outside without them and he looked like he was giving it some serious thought. I paused to let him think about it and waited for him to say something. Eventually he said 'I scared of ice cream truck.', in a tone that sounded like a reasoning process, if it's even possible at his age. I said 'That's right and with the leash or the carriage, Mommy can take you away from the ice cream truck if you get scared.'

Within a minute or two, he was back to listening to his options. The leash meant a walk around the neighborhood. The carriage meant a long walk to the art gallery and then to Dunkin Donuts for Munchkins, which he loves. He chose the Munchkins and still threw a fit when I put him in the carriage, but he was more readily reminded of our talk when I'd said "Remember. We talked about this. It's dangerous without the leash or carriage." He relented on his back arching and said simply "Dangerous. I scared of ice cream truck."


So he WAS reasoning! Wow. September 10, 2009