Last weekend we had 2 kids birthday parties to attend - one for Sweetie's friend on Saturday, then the other for our young niece on Sunday.
First the friend's glow bowling party - It was really cool! A ton of fun and Sweetie completely loved it. She can't wait to go back!
However, after the bowling and during the pizza-and-cake-eating party time, Sweetie was the only kid there (and it was a large gathering) who complained about her attached-to-the-table-seat not being able to scoot in closer, about not having a fork to eat her pizza with, about not seeing where the napkins were, and about wanting to use a straw (that was not readily available) so that her lips didn't get wet when she drank her juice. Of course my ears could have certainly been tuned out to the other kids, but - seriously - Sweetie was the big whiner of the day.
But at least Hubby and I were a united front. We both kept repeating to Sweetie that she needed to "adapt". And in the end, for the most part, she was pretty dang good. Her one word cue to chill out seemed to at least tone down her problematic view of the world.
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The next day, on the way to our niece's party, we reminded Sweetie that her cousins had 2 big dogs at their house. We don't have dogs, so Sweetie is not entirely comfortable around them. But we reminded her to be calm around them, let them sniff and greet her, and after a little while they'll leave her alone.
The more you freak and and run around, the more excited they'll get and they'll never leave you be. You must adapt.
So we got there and within 2 minutes, Sweetie was asking where the dogs were (they had been put in a separate part of the house while the party was going on). Somebody took Sweetie's question for actual interest/disappointment in not being able to see and play with them. So I explained that their not being around was actually good, because Sweetie isn't very comfortable around them - but that we had been talking about how to behave around the dogs, so that's why she was asking.
Then Sweetie added in...
Yeah. I wanted to adapt with them.
(She was then taken to see them and, apparently, did just fine. I heard no problems about it, anyway).
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Sweetie and I had to go to the hardware store the other day to buy some new light bulbs for our multi-armed living room lamp. Once there, I asked a store employee for help in finding the type of bulb I needed. He found them, letting me know that each bulb came with an adaptor to fit into a different sized socket if need be.
This immediately caught Sweetie's attention.
Mama! He said "adapt"!
Yes he did.
I'd say we've got that girl's ear finely tuned...
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All week long, as Sweetie and I wait in the school drop off line of cars, I remind her that she needs to behave, listen to her teachers, not be bossy and not be grumpy. I don't want to pick up a grumpy girl.
You need to adapt.
I know. I already did that.
No. You learn to adapt everyday. There's always something new to get used to and adapt to. It's not something you do only once.
Oh. I didn't know that. Okay.
And so far, so good. Twice this week she was grumpy at pick up time, both times about recess (of course). But a stern reminder of what she needs to do and how she needs to adapt to the situation worked pretty well to quickly change her attitude for the better.
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(FYI - come back tomorrow for a new post - a review of a cool website I've discovered. Reviews likes this may very well become a regular Sunday feature. Maybe. I'm just sayin'...)
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