Finding Her Voice

Lauren has been, shall we say, testing the limits lately. I don't know if it's just a function of just being three or if it's her personality or both. It's sort of funny and definitely irritating at the same time.

Her first new trick has been being really bossy. She has no problem telling you where to sit and where to stand and how to do so. She demands food and certain toys and tells you exactly what you need to do to entertain her. It's all in this imperious little voice with a trace of indignation that you're not moving fast enough. It's all very charming.

A recent example of this was at Gymboree. She was with her babysitter Anna; I was at a meeting. She demanded that Anna get in this little flimsy fabric tunnel and as soon as Anna squeezed herself in, Lauren walked away. She just wanted to make her do it, I think.

Lauren's second trick is tattle-telling. I think this is something she picked up from daycare. Every day she comes home with some story of woe of how another kid did her wrong. They usually pushed her or took something from her. At least, that's what she says. VJ has also told me that Lauren is quite on top of what the other kids are doing and that she has no compunction about telling VJ when someone steps out of line. I think she's going to be a kindergarten teacher.

The final new trick is the doozy: she's started lying. Recently, she ran to tell her dad several times in a row that I pushed her. She then came back to me and said, "You're in trouble. So, she knows what she's doing. She knows there are consequences for me if she tells on me. The first time she said it, I told her what she was doing was called lying and that it was wrong, that it hurt other people. The second time, I repeated myself and tried to be very firm. The final time, she went into timeout and had to apologize to me. I didn't want to come down too hard this this was her first time really doing this, but do want to nip it in the bud. I don't need a little sociopath after all.

Overall, though, Lauren is a very happy, charming, sweet, and loving little girl. She's just coming into her own and is finding this little independent streak which is kind of fun to watch. Just as long as she leaves me out of it!