“What Do Little Boys Do?”

Kenny started asking me this question about a week ago.   He asks it every time I: A) Tell him to do (or not do) something, and B)  Every time  he wants to do something that he knows he may not be allowed to do.  

For example, he loves to eat grapes, and I am very strict about either cutting them in half, or watching him bite each one in half.   He’ll pop one whole in his mouth, I’ll make him spit it out and bite it, and he’ll say, “What do little boys do?” I’ll say, “Little boys obey their Mamas and bite their grapes in half.”   And then he’ll do it with no complaint.   Or I’ll catch him pulling a chair over to climb up and reach something that is very specifically too high for him to touch and he’ll see me looking at him and ask, “What do little boys do?” I’ll say, “They obey their Mamas and don’t stand on chairs.”

Every time he climbs in his car seat, it’s “What do little boys do?” and every time I tell him it’s time for a nap, the same question.   I’m not really sure where it came from.   It’s bewildering and cute all at once,  perplexing, and yet I really think he’s learning about making choices for himself through this odd game.   I’m not sure why he’s asking in the third person, but maybe he’s trying to find out if rules are for everybody (or rather, all little boys), or just for him.

I figured out yesterday that I can turn it around to great effect.   When he wouldn’t stop climbing on a particularly dangerous set of stairs at my parent’s house yesterday, I said, “Kenny, little boys obey their Mamas when they say no climbing.”     He looked up, almost surprised, and got off the stairs.

He’s also starting to understand compliments and praise.   The other day when we were playing t-ball in the backyard, after he really whacked one (that kid is a slugger!), I said, “Great job, Kenny!   That was a good one!”   A few moments later, I hit a ball just as far, and Kenny looked up and said, “Good job, Mama!   That was a good one!” and ran over and hugged my knee.   Today during his nap, I started setting up a few Christmas decorations, and when he came down, he looked at the dining room table with it’s red velvet runner and red topiary, and said, “That’s pretty, Mama!”

We set out before dinner and got our Christmas tree today, too.   When we stood it up in the living room, Kenny sighed, “Woooooow!   That’s our tree!”   Sometimes it’s hard to remember that he’s only two!