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Category: social interactions
I’m not a mom who likes to see her son in a skirmish with another kid, but whenever I witness a social conflict, I see this moment—however awkward—as an opportunity. While my little guy doesn’t see kids on a regular basis, we’ve still experienced a variety of social interactions, from the little girl who took [...]
“My toddler’s day care provider told me that D was on the shy side,” my friend S recalled to me. We had been talking about shy kids and how adults commonly regard them. She continued, “To be honest, my first reaction was that my heart sank. I grew up a shy girl, so I was [...]
My brother has long been known to tease the heck out of anyone, and my toddler is no exception. The teasing can be simple; for instance, we were at the dining table when he positioned his head close to my toddler’s point of view, all the while claiming that he’s just looking at the food [...]
At the library, my toddler was playing with a block when a younger child walked over and happily took it away from LO’s hand. The boy didn’t do so menacingly; in fact, like most kids his age, he probably just assumed that the toy was his for the taking, and take he did. Meanwhile, my [...]
At a recent family gathering, my brother-in-law wanted a hug from my toddler, but LO was in no mood for hugging. Rather than forcing him to hug or sheepishly making excuses as to why he refused, I told LO, “Looks like you don’t want to hug right now. Maybe later?” I suggested. “Later,” my toddler [...]
My cousins and I were laughing about a photo of us when we were kids: our parents had us act out the nativity scene for Christmas, complete with costumes and a baby doll wrapped in a blanket. And while I’m sure I didn’t mind playing the part of a shepherd, I hesitate to think that [...]
My toddler doesn’t get to interact with too many kids his age. Sure, he has cousins and even a few play mates, but we don’t see them on a regular basis. On one hand, I’m perfectly fine with this—I tend to think that children actually benefit from adult-oriented interactions than peer-oriented ones. But I also [...]
Today was a rainy day and my toddler and I had been cooped up in the house. So when I made plans to hang out with my friend S and her almost two-year-old son D, I brilliantly thought, “We can go to the library!” It’s indoors, they have a children’s section, and it’s the library. [...]
My toddler was climbing on the playground the other day when another boy started pointing at him. “Plex! Plex!” the boy cried excitedly. His mom turned to me and said, “Oh, your son’s wearing ‘Plex’! That’s my son’s favorite character on Yo Gabba Gabba.” At that point I remembered that LO was wearing a Yo [...]
