Jonah is fiercely independent. If he CAN do it himself, he WILL do it himself.
That’s been true since he was an infant. At 2 years old, if he was hungry at night, he wouldn’t cry. He would climb out of his crib, sneak downstairs, open the fridge, forage for some string cheese, and start eating it through the wrapper.
And that mentality has not changed. He wants to pour his own milk. He wants to get his own water. He NOW wants to brush his own teeth.
His desire to be independent will serve him well in the future.
But the toughest thing he’s had to learn is how to ask for help when he needs it.
Takes a minute to think about that sentence. Ironic reflection.
Actually I think we all can have trouble with that, sometimes (myself included).
We are working on giving Jonah tools to not only recognize when he needs help doing something, but asking for it as well.
And it is not always with words. Sometimes he leads us by the hand and puts our hand on what it is he wants. Sometimes it’s a cry of frustration.
I try to ask him if he needs “help” to reinforce what he is requesting. Honestly, I don’t ALWAYS know what kind of help he wants. It could be anything. We constantly have to read the situation and pick up on all the non-verbal cues.
We try to teach him as many words as possible so that we can understand him better.
Even if we understand what he is requesting non-verbally, we try to reinforce it by labeling with words. That way, even if he doesn’t pick up the word himself, he is recognizing when WE use that word and can know that he is being understood.
And understanding and being understood is a need we ALL have as individuals.
(even if we don’t always ask for help when we need it).
Thanks to Cat on a trampoline for sharing!