If you like predictability, don’t have a baby, because babies become toddlers and toddlers think that if you can anticipate their next move it is a sign of weakness.
Sometimes toddlers realize that you have slowly begun to catch onto their shenanigans, so they immediately reverse course on everything they have ever said or done.
One day bananas are a child’s favorite food, the next merely glimpsing a banana causes convulsions, screaming, and tears. Lots and lots of tears. Sometimes these about-faces take place, not day to day, but hour to hour, minute to minute, and even from one second to the next.
I’m sure I speak for parents everywhere when I freely admit that sometimes I don’t handle the sudden toddler U-turn all that well. I’ve had many fine moments as a parent, and I’ve had more than a few I hope my kids were too young to remember long term. I feel pretty confident that a large percentage of my blunders have been in close proximity to a toddler changing their mind about something for the seventh time in the last thirty seconds.
A few days ago while the Wonder Woman was busy I loaded all four kids up to take them to visit their grandparents. I got each of the kids a snack for the road, and the three-year-old Fashionista was very sure she wanted a small bag of popcorn, which I dutifully handed her before turning my attention to putting shoes on the almost two-year-old Jedi. By the time I was through with the Jedi, the Fashionista had changed her mind.
I was a little exasperated, but thought I handled it well until a couple of minutes later when we were mercifully, finally ready to load up in the van. As the kids were walking out the door I noticed that the Fashionista was carrying the popcorn instead of the other options I had given her. When I asked her why she was going with the popcorn she paused, put her hands on her hips and said, “Well, since you were gwumpy I’ll just eat the popcorn.”
For a second I was a little put off that my adorable but sassy little girl had called me grumpy, but that soon gave way to relief that she was finally sticking with a decision.
