Finally Friday

Gearing up for a big weekend. Trees are getting trimmed, and I have lots to read to get ready for writing. I have been getting up early and reading, but not so much for the running. Will go tomorrow.

Honey's first week of daycare was great. Cat and I have very similar parenting philosophies, which is great. She and I had a good discussion over email about helping Honey deal with the "mines". Everything is hers, and she has gotten over-zealous in protecting it. We are working on the respect for yourself and others thing, but her language isn't quite there. Cat had some great points for making what we are saying accessible to Honey.

Here is part of what Cat had to say...

What I do is acknowledge what the child wants or is feeling, staying as positive as possible. Yesterday, when Honey feared PBC or Lemon was going to take a toy from her, I said, "Honey is playing with the doll. Honey wants space to play with the doll." I'm really big on children's right to space, and I use that word a lot. Next, I make sure that the child sees that her space really is protected, showing her that another child is just walking by or giving that other child a different toy.

Yesterday, Honey walked up to Lemon and PBC several times, pointing to a toy they were holding and saying, "Mine!" So I acknowledged what she wanted and said, "Honey wants a turn with the dinosaur." Then I described the situation, "Lemon is playing with the dinosaur." Finally I introduced a solution, "Let's get you another dinosaur," or "Right now, Lemon is throwing the bear for Doggy and next it's your turn!"

Both of these point to what I am trying to implement at home. We do work on problem solving with her, with the idea that at some point she'll be able to take over the idea generation. Hopefully we are giving her the tools to do that, while at the same time giving her clear boundaries and respecting her own personal boundaries. The language above does all of that. It gives Honey direction, shows her that we see her point, and teaches her respect for others.
Good stuff.