Taking care of Malcolm is now faced with new challenges as he learns how to speak more. When he first started asking qustions and speaking in full sentences, we were surprise, happy and amused. Now, it was a test of our patience to answer all his questions. He asks questions like
“Where the sun sleep”
“Why Daddy need to go Las Vegas”
“Why the moon follow us home”
“How come the bird is not scared of the rain”
“Why Daddy never buy me necklace” (After I told him Daddy bought the necklace for me)
Other than questions, Mal had started talking back at us! Today, while I was mopping the floor (btw I still used the dinosaur method of mopping the floor with a rag) I was kneeling down with my butt facing him. He suddenly exclaimed “Mummy don’t push me!” I told him I didnt “Don’t push me with your butt!”
Oh, so I had accidentally bumped him with my butt causing him to slip…actually it was the bump and the wet floor that caused him to slip. My fault…so I apologized…
There was another incident 2 days back which got me really mad. I had cooked some noodles for myself after feeding him his lunch. When he saw the noodles, he asked
Mal : “Why mummy cook noodles”
Mal : “Mummy don’t cook little bit, I want to eat”
I scooped some noodle in his plate even though I knew that he shouldn’t be hungry after the amount of rice I have fed him. True enough, after a few bites, he lost interest. As it was running late for his nap time and he was obviously tired, I finished off the last bit of noodles in his plate.
Mal : “Mummy don’t eat my noodles!”
I told him I had already swallowed
Mal : “Mummy spit out my noodles!”
I ignored him and went on to wash the dishes. I took his crankiness as a sign of over tiredness. He continued to whine and wanted me to cook more noodles…this soon turned into crying and screaming which made me so angry. But instead of locking him up in his room for time out, I locked myself in the room! only for a while before I opened the door. This didn’t stop him from crying…he continued to cry for his noodles! I was so mad that I was no longer talking but shouting at him! Finally I asked him “Are you still hungy?” which he replied with a “YES!” I had no choice but to take out the pot and cook him a small piece of noodle just to shut him up as I was very sure that he should not be hungry. At the table, he quietly ate his noodle even though he was dozing off! I ended clearing away the noodle before putting him to sleep.
I was trying to figure out why he acted this way?!
Was he too tired?
Was he still hungry?
Was he just being stubborn?
Was he too proud to not eat the noodle after all the commotion he had caused?
Maybe is a combination of all the above. I concluded that the distraction method is soon going to lose its effectiveness on Mal. He is now more persistent and his memory is getting better. He is more persistent in getting the things he wants and even if we manage to distract him, he will remember again what has caused him to be upset before the distraction.
Another scenario…
We were shopping in the toy department. He saw an Elmo toy which he liked and insisted I buy for him. (Before this, Mal has never made a scene at the toy section before, which I believe is a nightmare for a lot of parents) I tried to distract him with something else but did not work. I explained to him that the toy was expensive and the item was not on sales. I further explained that I did not have enough money to pay for the toy that day. He was still not convinced and began to whine. I cracked my brain to come up with something to stop his whining. Finally I told him why not we go home and take his Ang Pao $$ to pay for the toy. He accepted the explanation. At the entrance of the house, I was quick to put down everything to prepare dinner. He sat at the door and said
Mal : “Mummy, take my Ang Pao $$ to buy toys!”
WAH! I was exhausted! He still remembers his toy at the departmental store! I ended up letting him cut the tofu while I prepare dinner. Ultimate distraction cos this is the first time I let him help to cut the tofu
Can’t wait for Daddy to come back to take over the parenting job even if it is for a while!!!
it is common lah that Malmal started to talk like an “adult”. Jor Jor said this to me after i asked for another “Hi 5″ sign …”i gave you just now .. why u still want”