Reacting to the Lies Of a Toddler

Toddlers are giant liars. You can’t believe a word that comes out of their tiny, adorable mouths.

My 2-year-old will often tell me exactly what she wants. She wants to eat a peanut butter sandwich, watch Sesame Street and wear her blue shoes.

All lies.

The second I finish the sandwich, CeCe declares she said turkey, not peanut butter. In the opening credits of Sesame Street, she is screaming for Curious George.

And when the blue shoes are presented, they are swiftly tossed away and the crying begins for the pink ones.

You may be thinking, “She just changed her mind.” You’d be lying as well.

I am convinced this is deliberate behavior meant to test our limits.

I give CeCe plenty of control in her decisions. She is allowed to dress herself (with tweaks for weather conditions).

She is allowed to pick what she eats (out of a preapproved selection). So why change her mind a million times a day?

Maybe it’s her way of letting me know who runs the show in this house.

We call her our princess, but the monarchy is a little backwards.

When I ask CeCe if she is hungry and she says, “No,” she just wants the power of saying no.

She is probably very hungry. But she wants to eat only when it looks like it was her decision.

I can see the wheels turning in CeCe’s head whenever she is faced with a decision to make.

Those wheels are saying, “What do I really want, and how can I make this process as difficult as possible for Mom?”

Over time, maybe I will develop that built-in lie detector so many moms have.
(I know mine had one.)

Then I can just make her the darn turkey sandwich no matter what she actually asks for.

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