08-16-2006, 08:25 PM
Toddlers and infants indeed love games. I read your post anarky, and I have some thoughts on this. Do you or Thomas' mother ever hit him (even gently on the hand, etc.) to discipline him? Part of the reason my nephew hits my son is because his mother hits him whenever he misbehaves, and he seems to think that this is a more effective way of getting desired results, whereas I teach Daniel that using words and speaking calmly is the only way you can do so. It's a little difficult to teach this to Daniel however, when his cousin constantly hits him. Also, my nephew is hit often by his mother simply because she is lazy and does not want to deal with him at all. This is also the reason for all of the screaming and namecalling and swearing she directs towards him. Once again, I must stress how important it is that you teach a child through example; if you scream, yell, and hit, your child will follow suit.
I am not by any means calling you two lazy, irresponsible, or in any way bad parents; in fact it sounds like you are quite the opposite. I'm simply suggesting that any methods you use to discipline, play, or teach your child may be backfiring, and this may cause undesired results. Maybe you both should take a step back and observe exactly what you are doing with your child, and you might find clear as daylight the reason your child hits (even if simply playing). For example, my son began punching us in the face randomly, and Nikki hated it. I know exactly why this happened; I would entertain myself by wispering to Daniel "go punch Mommy in the face," and he would do so. Although I found it cute, I almost regret doing it (although it was solved easily by giving no [or sometimes negative] attention to it and positive attention to other things).
And on to my son's games: We play peekaboo and it's a little worn out; he has been playing this for almost a year and he only plays it now with a blanket. For instance, he will hide under the blanket, then pull it over his head quickly and say enthusiastically "Oh, there I am!" This game has since been superceded by hide-and-seek, which I taught him last week. He understands it perfectly, and a typical game would go as follows: Daniel would stand outside the door of our bedroom (or whatever room we would play in) and cover his eyes while counting "1, 2, 3678910!" [sic] and yell "Ready not, here we come!" (still needs work on the phrasing). Then he would open the door, look for me very slowly, and then when he finds me, go very close to my face, he will wait a few seconds while smiling before shouting "Oh, I FOUND YOU!" in my face. Then I yell "Yay! You found me!" and I will tickle him for a minute or so, before he says "play again?" And we repeat the process. I can only do this for 20 minutes before I get bored of it, or physically tired. Also, he is learning to sing and play pattycake, itsybitsyspider, and other various songs. He is only beginning to understand the concept of singing, and he can sometimes sing certain words (1 in 5) of the Jojo's Circus songs which we watch together, or he watches while I study. However mostly he will simply say "Daddy, I'm gonna [sometimes 'going to'] sing like this: awawawawwawawawawa!!!" and then laugh hysterically. So games and songs as you can see are healthy and fun to play with a child, even if it seems stupid or redudant. I was afraid for a while to teach him certain things because I thought it would make him ignorant, but I realize he must learn everything in stages, and I allow this to happen (for example, watching television sometimes is necessary IMHO).
More on child psychology in a few hours, I needs ta [sic] eat and study for my semester which begins Monday.
I am not by any means calling you two lazy, irresponsible, or in any way bad parents; in fact it sounds like you are quite the opposite. I'm simply suggesting that any methods you use to discipline, play, or teach your child may be backfiring, and this may cause undesired results. Maybe you both should take a step back and observe exactly what you are doing with your child, and you might find clear as daylight the reason your child hits (even if simply playing). For example, my son began punching us in the face randomly, and Nikki hated it. I know exactly why this happened; I would entertain myself by wispering to Daniel "go punch Mommy in the face," and he would do so. Although I found it cute, I almost regret doing it (although it was solved easily by giving no [or sometimes negative] attention to it and positive attention to other things).
And on to my son's games: We play peekaboo and it's a little worn out; he has been playing this for almost a year and he only plays it now with a blanket. For instance, he will hide under the blanket, then pull it over his head quickly and say enthusiastically "Oh, there I am!" This game has since been superceded by hide-and-seek, which I taught him last week. He understands it perfectly, and a typical game would go as follows: Daniel would stand outside the door of our bedroom (or whatever room we would play in) and cover his eyes while counting "1, 2, 3678910!" [sic] and yell "Ready not, here we come!" (still needs work on the phrasing). Then he would open the door, look for me very slowly, and then when he finds me, go very close to my face, he will wait a few seconds while smiling before shouting "Oh, I FOUND YOU!" in my face. Then I yell "Yay! You found me!" and I will tickle him for a minute or so, before he says "play again?" And we repeat the process. I can only do this for 20 minutes before I get bored of it, or physically tired. Also, he is learning to sing and play pattycake, itsybitsyspider, and other various songs. He is only beginning to understand the concept of singing, and he can sometimes sing certain words (1 in 5) of the Jojo's Circus songs which we watch together, or he watches while I study. However mostly he will simply say "Daddy, I'm gonna [sometimes 'going to'] sing like this: awawawawwawawawawa!!!" and then laugh hysterically. So games and songs as you can see are healthy and fun to play with a child, even if it seems stupid or redudant. I was afraid for a while to teach him certain things because I thought it would make him ignorant, but I realize he must learn everything in stages, and I allow this to happen (for example, watching television sometimes is necessary IMHO).
More on child psychology in a few hours, I needs ta [sic] eat and study for my semester which begins Monday.
earn.