My daughter has always been very confident in her body. She would watch her older cousins do things and think to herself, "I can do it too!" (Remember, MM is going to be three in May.) MM has been walking since she was one and has been thinking that she was capable of doing things well beyond her age group and skill set. If she saw an older child climb something, she would climb it too. If she saw children in the ocean playing, she was there too. You get the idea and can understand why I have so many white hairs.
Recently, MM has been enjoying her ability to take off or put on clothing; mostly take off. I have had a "great" time dressing her in the morning. She can be very opinionated about wearing certain outfits and will take off offending clothing. I have had to redress her as many as three times in the morning. Usually her biggest final rebellion seems to be focused on not wearing socks even if it is colder than 32 degrees. She will take off her shoes and socks on the way to school which delays me further. She also wants to wear clothing with as many pockets as possible and wear shoes that can easily come off while playing. She loves wearing dresses because it is easier to use the potty but hates to be put in tights (she will exhaust herself trying to get out of them). My husband does not understand these acts of rebellion so I do not encourage him to dress her in the morning. When he does, she requires 15 minutes of holding to overcome her trauma of being forced into an offending outfit.
Last night's event was bound to happen. It was damp outside, but not bad in temperature, so Andy took the children out for a walk while I prepared dinner. After about 15 minutes, MM knocked on the door and came into the house because she had fallen and gotten wet. She came in, took off her shoes and pants and turned on the TV. I went back to fixing dinner. A few minutes later I heard the sidedoor open again and heard MM struggling with her baby stroller. I walked over and saw her new outfit: she had replaced her wet shoes with a new, dry pair, she had on her Dora the Explorer backpack and a smile. Yup, that's it. She had previously run into the garage with just boots on, knowing that she should not be outside and willing to just run out and come back in before being seen, but this time, she knew what she was doing. She wanted to go out into the neighborhood. Luckily my husband was still outside and told her that she needed to go back in and get dressed. I met her at the door and helped her take off the backpack and got as far as a long sleeved shirt before she took off again. She finally allowed me to put a pull-up and pants on her, but she was decidedly unhappy about it.
One of the things I think she likes about her natural state is that her long hair tickles her back. She has discovered that if she puts her head back, her long hair touches the top of her tush. After a shower, she will stand her her room and put her head back so that she can feel her wet hair touch as far down as the backs of her thighs. She also likes to stand in front of my full mirror and watch herself. I know this is all part of her overall awareness of herself and I am trying really hard not traumatize her. I want her to be proud of her body without setting her up to be a future stripper. I guess if my sister Laura is any example, running around naked until aged 4 does not predispose a child to being a stripper or a porn star later, so I guess I'm safe.
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