Monday, October 24, 2011

Margaret In Charge

The development of language is doing much for Margaret’s ability to shape the world around her.  I think that she’s being very careful to develop enough language that she can tell us what she wants, but not enough that we can expect her to understand what we’re trying to tell her.  It’s actually a very clever system she’s worked out, because it leads to her getting her way more often than is good for her.

This morning is a good case in point.

She was playing in the living room, and she happened across one of her sweaters.  It is a very cute sweater, and  I can quite understand her desire to have more to do with it.  She came over to me, held it out, and said “Cold.  On.”  Pausing only briefly to be happy that she had come so far in expressing herself (two words!  Strung together!  Meaning something sensible!), I put the sweater over her head.

Not.  What.  She.  Wanted.

She howled “Nooooooooooooo!  Mommy on!” as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. (Again, let’s pause for the brief swell of pride that she is combining words to make more complex concepts.  Also, that she has learned to say Mommy, because she was avoiding it for a very long time).

But here is the problem.  She has no sense of size relation.  But I do, and I know that her sweater would not fit me.  But she was insistent, and does not have the vocabulary to comprehend “too small” and “Mommy will stretch it out” and “This isn’t going to work” and “I’m already wearing a sweater” and “Your Nana will crucify me on the back lawn if I destroy that sweater she made you.”

So we compromised.

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And this apparently satisfied her.

I actually blame her Uncle Ron, who taught her that non-hat things can be worn as hats.

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