One of the cool experiences about this past weeks part of the class assignments was observing how parents and their children interact with each other. I also took this opportunity to observe myself a few times with my own daughter and how she interacts with the both of us parents.
One observation I had with one of the families at Albertson was that every time the child wanted something the child would cry or whine a little bit. The dad would then react and say, What's the matter? While the mom would say, please use your words. Another time it was, sweetie, did you mean juice? The mom would say this. The dad says the same thing, What's going on son?
One of the greatest books I have the opportunity to read right now is the "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," by Stephen Covey. And one of the first principles taught by Dr. Covey is being pro-active. While observing this little family, I noticed that the mom was usually the one being pro-active. The dad reacts and instead of trying to understand the situation, would ask the questions, what's the matter. Whereas the mom would say, honey did you want you sippy?
No wonder why kids are more lean towards moms!
Now, this is not always the case. Mom do it too. While observing this little family, it made me realized that I do the same thing too. So I need to help my daughter and try to understand her need before I respond.