So, we've been battling the onset of toddler violence in our house and I have been the sole recipient. Zanna has recently taken to hitting me when she doesn't want to do what is coming next: bathroom, bedtime, naptime, shoes on, etc. I have handled it poorly sometimes and better others, and finally, over Thanksgiving, we had a positive breakthrough. In a quiet moment, when it had been hours since she last hit me, I said to her, "Zanna, it bothers me that you've been hitting me. The next time that you hit me, or someone else, you will need to be by yourself for 2 minutes. People need to be safe, and if you're hitting them, they're not safe." Then, we went on our merry way, probably changing the conversation to Dora or dinosaurs. Later as we drove home in the car, I heard this song coming from the backseat; "I don't hit, I don't bite, I don't even get in the cat's face... because I make good choices!" It continued for a little while, with quite the excellent tune. Cam and I turned down the radio so we could hear her song.
Needless to say, since the song has been sung, Mom has not suffered any more violence at the hands of her toddler. Ah, the power of music.
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