As previously mentioned, Baby B has stepped up her role-playing interest lately. Typically it is limited more to scenarios that she is familiar with, but we have a great time acting them out — and hopefully getting her to see things in a new light.
One of her recent favorites is to put me and The Husband in timeout. She used to say we (or The Dog) should go to timeout, but that’s where it ended. That’s not the case now. She fully steps into the role of a parent or teacher and enforces the rules. If I talk while she’s reading? Here’s how it goes:
Me: [talk talk talk]
Baby B: “Mommy, you do NOT talk while I’m READING the story. You go to ti-MOUT!”
She leads me over to a place next to her closet doors and instructs me to sit there.
Baby B: “Now you stay here and you do NOT talk. And you do NOT dance when you’re in timeout.”
As part of our role reversal I like to pretend to be a child who does not listen, so she can hopefully see the kinds of frustrations that we (her parents) and her teachers have to deal with. Basically I push it as far as I can (though backing off when it’s clear that Baby B doesn’t feel like it’s a game anymore).
So I’ll start dancing in timeout. Which, of course, draws the wrath of Ms. You’re in Timeout.
Me: [dancing, dancing, dancing]
Baby B: “Mommy, you are NOT being very good! You are not listening to me. You do NOT dance in timeout. And you do not talk in timeout.”
I’ll pretend to be good for a few seconds, neither dancing nor talking, then I’ll do something new, like lie down on the floor. Immediately she comes back over to me, exasperated.
Baby B: “What are you doing? You need to sit up.”
Me: “But I wasn’t dancing or talking. You just said no dancing and no talking!”
Baby B: “No, Mommy. You need to sit UP!”
And so it continues for a good ten or 15 minutes, this game that is so much more than a game. I always used to think it was most beneficial for Baby B, as she gets to see some of what we have to deal with, but I’m learning that it’s also useful for me and The Husband, as we get to see things from her point of view, too. The end goal of respecting each other is reached by first taking the path of understanding each other.
