I want it NOW!!!

How do you teach a two year old the meaning of 'patience'?

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The whole concept of 'having to wait' for something and not getting it immediately seems to have escaped Little P's learning curve. I'm not sure where she picked up the whole 'Veruca Salt - I want it now' business, as I know it's not something we do at home. Whenever it came from, I can tell you one thing - I'm not a huge fan of it, at all.

"Milk please. Milk now, please. Milk NOW!" Yup, and that's the short version of it. Normally it continues ad nausem till she gets what she wants, or I'm able to distract her long enough (look, something shiny) for her to forget what it was that she had to have right at this very moment.

I've gotten pretty good at intercepting her 'I want it now' routine - usually by singing 'The Wheels on the Bus' or 'Old McDonald', but sooner or later, she remembers that she was asking for something, and that Mommy hadn't given it to her....and the routine begins, refreshed, louder and much more demanding.

She has, as of yet, to throw herself on the floor in a fit because she hasn't gotten what she wants, and if we are lucky, we might just be able to bypass that all together, but I'm not holding my breath. And as a general rule, she only does it when it's just us. The whole 'do it while we are in public because they will be embarassed and give it to me to keep me quiet' deal has yet to hit her, and since we have been insanely lucky not to see this kind of behaviour in other kids, we may miss that one too. Hey, stranger things have happened.

But it's so tiring. I've dealt with demanding bosses before, but this is a whole new world of pain. AND I hear it only gets worse going into year three. *sigh* Wasn't it supposed to get easier as they got older, not harder?

So, here's to looking forward to a short period of 'demands' from our little boss, and fingers crossed, it's smooth sailing from here on out (although, we have battened down the hatches and stocked up the rations, just in case it gets rough).

Till next time.

K