Friday, July 2, 2010

Better communication through screaming

Lily was a baby until fairly recently.  Now she's a toddler.   This is why she cries for some things she could ask for, even with her recently acquired language skills.

Right now, she's not at a wholly unacceptable age for outbursts, but that time will come.   This is why our mission, as parents, is to use the carrot and (proverbial) stick to fully transform her primary communication method from cry to words.

It's not a particularly fun task.   Crying gets your attention faster and at a certain decibel level you respond faster, instinctively, on an almost fight of flight level.   Then, after any sustained cry, you want to do whatever it takes to stop it.

The other factor that weighs in is the development stage of the 'Terrible Twos', where delayed gratification doesn't exist and emotions are just new & downright confusing.

Still, I have little doubt that firm and loving consistency is the best thing.

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