How Did She Come From Me?

My two-year old daughter has been a force to be reckoned with since she was born. She is feisty, opinionated, and has the inner strength of an elderly woman. I thought I was just making it all up when she seemed to be fussing at me as a five-month old infant. However the daycare owner commented to me that my baby was fussing at her often as she took her place amongst her infant and toddler friends. Eventually her personality garnered the moniker “the boss” at daycare. How could this be, my little squirt only in the world for two years with the strength and command presence of a much older soul. I find myself admiring her for being so much more of a bolder spirit than I was at that age and maybe any age. As she enters her “adorable horrible” stage also known as “terrible twos” this strength and obstinacy is often directed at her father and I. We are forced to temper the ways we admonish her testy behavior all the while being cognizant that we do not want to hamper her free-ness and strong spirit. My husband and I made an agreement prior to the birth of our first child that our discipline would be tailored to the spirit of the child, there was no way it could be a one size fits all process. Little did we know what type of spirit we would be up against. I have found that my daughter has the type of intelligence and personality that likes choices; even when faced with going to bed early or being on time out, she would rather have the choice than be made to do anything. We are in new territory and as we stare into our three-month old son’s eyes and get to know him more, it will be interesting to see how our parenting style will have to change to meet him where he is. More to come on this…