Universal Inevitable Truths

Shannon - 36
1 daughter (17 mo.)
Champaign, IL

The universal, inevitable and necessary - but always sad - toddler truth, is hitting Nat hard these days:

Everyone on the planet wasn't put here to serve her.

Two examples:
1. At a birthday party last weekend, Nat reached for a cookie in another little girl's hand. "No-no," I told her, "that's not Nat's cookie."
She gave me the most heart broken, incredulous look. It was her first encounter with something that she wanted that wasn't hers (other than our glasses or cell phones or that kind of stuff).
2. Today, at the playground, Nat got a bit more adventurous than usual and struck out on her own. We watched her from a decent distance as she toddled about, oogling the older children in awe. Suddenly, another little boy a bit older than her, slid down a slide and into her, toppling her over. She looked up, started crying, picked herself up and pointed at him as if to say "You! You have violated my person! Do you know who I am?" She didn't know we were watching. We just about fell over laughing. But Cole also swooped over to save her.

She has had the habit, for a while now, of waving enthusiastically at the backs of people swiftly walking, jogging or biking away from her after they failed to acknowledge her presence. She seems to think they just missed her and will turn around once they realize who they've passed.

I suppose you could call her entitled--but to love and attention, not to stuff (except other people's cookies, I suppose).

It's hard to walk the line between spoiling her and keeping her little ego healthily intact as she learns that other sovereign humans inhabit the planet along with her. But for the most part, I think her ego is doing just fine.