I was hoping for a little insight from some of you mothers. My son, Noah is 3 ?? and very particular with words, phrases and speech in general. Therefore I find myself on guard whenever I am explaining things to him. For example, if I tell Noah that its time to feed the horse(s) and goat(s), he will immediately respond with, ???Mom, we have 1 goat and 1 horse.??? And then last Sunday we were discussing how cold it was and he was concerned he???d be cold at church. I explained to him that the heater was going to be on. He then said, ???Mom, the heater is already on???. If this only happened out of the blue or just a few times, I???d find this very funny. However, it has turned into a game of wits with him. Now tell me this, mothers of talking toddlers. If this is just a little boy exploring diction within his vocabulary, why does it feel so belittling/disrespectful? Should I rejoice in the possibility that Noah will grow to be the youngest politician in our state or some high-powered attorney? Or should I worry each time we speak, that my words may be analyzed, contorted, and manipulated? As I contemplate my possible undoing as a mother who knows all (Ha Ha). I then look at him as he wiggles his hips practicing to become a better hula-hooper or climbing a tree, and just see an adorable three year old. I’m sure Noah is not the first to play this game, so what did anyone else do with this?
Brooke
7 responses to “Careful corrections or back talking?”
oh my goodness… that boy WOULD be my undoing! you have got your hands full FULL FULL! 🙂 sorry to say i don’t have any words of wisdom for you on this one but will certainly look forward to “hearing” (don’t let noah read that) what other mothers have to say! oh my my my…. (Lord, please help me! Seth will be 3 in April…)
Ughhhhhhhhh what a hard one! One thing I did recognize though is that you stated “it feels belittling/disrespectful” AND “should I worry each time we speak”. You are the parent(s). He is the child. You should never feel that way. I am absolutely no professional (Lord knows I have my own battles with my three wee ones :); however, I would assume Noah is just one smart little guy who may just need a good explaining to. And if that didn’t work, I’d smack him. LOL! Just kidding!! Keep us posted & congratulations on that sweet baby girl due soon. Ahhhhhhh lots of pinks & bows. 🙂
LOL MELISSA! knowing your punchy sense of humor really has me giggling on this one! you nut. 🙂 only melissa could get away with this… 🙂 hee hee…
Heehee Heidi… 🙂
You should live with me. 🙂
What to do when you have this sinking feeling that your toddler is smarter than you are :)? I understand this well because 15 minutes of conversation with Noah leaves me feeling dumber than a door stop too! We need to hold classes on quick witt Brooke because I have no idea how we as a family group will outsmart him. I really don’t. 🙂
I don’t think he is “back talking”. Simply stating what he sees. He does sound like one smart guy. Especially if he is starting early. My son (5) told his dad that he was smarter than him! I am gone from the kids for 6 weeks and as soon as I left he said “Dad I am smarter than you” He was talking about he thinks he can get away with things because usually mom knows what he is up too. I thought it was funny, so did my hubby. Not sure that laughing was really the best thing at this point…humm.. Jere’
Wow! you’ve got an analytical thinker on your hands! It would be very hard to be correct by your 3 year old but I think as long as his tone is never belittling or disrespectful, that you should encourage his intelligence. Teaching him to remain humble will be quite a task, but if he can find a balance it will be a wonderful thing. Other than that just learn what you can along the way! 🙂