So, there we were. The setting was brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s house, busting at the seams with people. Little’s just finished lunch. She ate quietly and plentifully, people-watching, and was behaving tremendously well [for the 10 minutes we had been there]. She loves noise and activity. As soon as I took her out of the high chair, she ran to play with the toys by the other kids, which there were quite a few of. Toys and kids.
Some time passed with her playing with the other kids–I watched her from the other side of the couch as I tried to carry on conversations. I spotted her having a stare down with a little boy, maybe her age, maybe a little older, who’s had a binkie plunked in his mouth all day. (That is pertinent information, not a knock on anyone. This is a no-judgemental blog, or as close as one can be.) This little boy was holding one of those big sensory balls. Now, I’m not sure what transpired prior to me noticing, if Little had requested the ball prior, and I won’t speculate to defend what was about to happen. Here’s the play-by-play from my eye witness encounter:
Little pointed at the ball, in toddler language, asking rather nicely for the ball.
Binkie boy clutched the ball tighter.
Little pointed again.
Binkie boy twisted his body around, as to get the ball as far from Little as he could without moving his feet. He made an audible (even with the roar of the football game and chatter) “Uhhhh” through the binkie to make clear that the ball was his and he had no plans to share.
Little paused, tilted her head, snatched Binkie boy’s binkie right out of his mouth and took off running into the crowd in a fit of giggles.
I very well may have snorted. I tried to control my laughter in favor of instructing her to return the binkie, as I thought I would otherwise be judged as a bully mommy. Hubs assisted in herding her back and she did so willingly. The boy, now sans binkie, still stood in the same spot with the ball clutched in his arms and my feisty Little plunked that binkie right back in his mouth. And went on her way.
The jury’s out on whether this was really an act of retaliation or if she was just trying to play, but what is for sure?
Little believes in sharing.
Little knows to return things to their rightful owners.
Little has no pangs for a binkie of her own again. She has been binkie free since June and she, meaning we, couldn’t be happier about it.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
A Good [Little] Life 