My toddler is just at that perfect age for testing her limits. Sometimes she does the exact opposite of what I tell her, specifically to drive me mental. She’s 2. I understand this is normal. I also understand it will likely get far worse before it ever gets better.
The other night, while picking her up from daycare, she decided to bolt down the driveway and towards the road.
Being the typical toddler mom, I screamed her name at the top of my lungs, like a banshee for the whole neighbourhood to hear. She stopped dead in her tracks.
I had won!
Right. As I approached her to put her in the car, she giggled and took off running away down the sidewalk. You know what’s NOT fun to do? Chase a running toddler on snow & ice covered sidewalks.
When I finally caught her and walk her back to the car, I decided that it was the perfect opportunity for a chat. She has never run away outside of our house before and this is not an activity I’d like to repeat often, if at all.
Me: “Lilly, listen to me. When you run away like that, you make Mommy very nervous.“
Lilly: (eyes wide with shock) “NERVOUS?!?” (she asks in this completely surprised and worried tone.)
*I am nearly positive that my child has no idea what the word nervous means.
Me: “Yes, nervous. It means you made Mommy scared.“
Lilly: (still looking wide-eyed) “Why u nervous, Mommy?“
Me: (really?!) “Um, because you ran away from me Lilly.“
Lilly: (once again shocked as I buckle her into her seat) “I ran away from you?!“
*It’s like we didn’t even live the same last 5 minutes.
Me: (giving her my best ‘Really, kid?’ look)
Lilly: “Who catched me?“
Me: (hanging my head. done.) “I did Lilly. I caught you. Please don’t do it again.“
Lilly: “I ran away and made Mommy nervous. Then Mommy catched me. Mommy still nervous…“
*I’m not quite sure she is even talking to me at this point anymore. I bow out of the backseat and shut the door. As I open the driver door, she is still talking to me/herself, delivering a play-by-play of our encounter and entire talk. She’s using this tone that makes her sound like a toddler news anchor and I can’t help but smile. She cracks me up.
I guess I should be happy that she was stating it all out loud and seemed to be processing the situation and talk. As we got home, she explained to Daddy that she ran away, Mommy catched her and Mommy is nervous.
Ideally speaking, I won’t ever have to chase her down the street again. But I know better. She has a lot of me in her. I am doomed.
Read more of my funny little musings with my monkey with the rest of my Talking With My Toddler posts.
Shona says
haha that’s funny Crystal!
Crys Wiltshire says
Thanks! She has completely mastered the clueless-dear-in-headlights look whenever we have talks like this. It should make me more frustrated, but it’s hilarious. I have to be so careful not to let her see me laughing