We were at the children's museum with my 2 year old niece A. and she did the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.
Part of the museum involves pink and purple buckets, which can be filled with green balls. There are lots and lots of balls, but a semi-shortage of buckets---they were around, but you had to look for them.
Because of this semi-shortage, buckets did not sit on the ground unattended for very long. A. had set down her bucket to go get some more balls and a slightly older child (maybe 3 years old) came and grabbed it. A. noticed, and the older child and A. pulled it back and forth for a while until I distracted A. by telling her to look behind her. There was another bucket, just like the one she was fighting over, on the floor right behind her. As far as I could tell, the buckets were exactly the same, and this would eliminate a nasty scene.
The older girl grabbed the bucket and ran, and A. walked slowly over to the bucket. She was not convinced that it was the same as her bucket, but she picked it up and tried putting a ball in it. Then she threw it to the ground and the balls fell out. She walked over to it and kicked it a few times. Despite the fact that it was exactly the same as the bucket she had just given up, A. knew that the other girl had done wrong and was upset.
The best thing was that all of this was silent---there was no screaming, no fussing, just an acknowledgement that justice had not been done. Then she picked up the new bucket and began putting balls in it.
A few minutes later, the other girl returned A's bucket. I pointed it out to A, who walked over, dumped the balls from the rejected bucket into her original bucket and went back to her work. This whole scene made me laugh out loud---A. was so serious, so intense, and so determined to be right that mere practicalities (the buckets were exactly the same) did not dissuade her. Gotta love toddlers.
Part of the museum involves pink and purple buckets, which can be filled with green balls. There are lots and lots of balls, but a semi-shortage of buckets---they were around, but you had to look for them.
Because of this semi-shortage, buckets did not sit on the ground unattended for very long. A. had set down her bucket to go get some more balls and a slightly older child (maybe 3 years old) came and grabbed it. A. noticed, and the older child and A. pulled it back and forth for a while until I distracted A. by telling her to look behind her. There was another bucket, just like the one she was fighting over, on the floor right behind her. As far as I could tell, the buckets were exactly the same, and this would eliminate a nasty scene.
The older girl grabbed the bucket and ran, and A. walked slowly over to the bucket. She was not convinced that it was the same as her bucket, but she picked it up and tried putting a ball in it. Then she threw it to the ground and the balls fell out. She walked over to it and kicked it a few times. Despite the fact that it was exactly the same as the bucket she had just given up, A. knew that the other girl had done wrong and was upset.
The best thing was that all of this was silent---there was no screaming, no fussing, just an acknowledgement that justice had not been done. Then she picked up the new bucket and began putting balls in it.
A few minutes later, the other girl returned A's bucket. I pointed it out to A, who walked over, dumped the balls from the rejected bucket into her original bucket and went back to her work. This whole scene made me laugh out loud---A. was so serious, so intense, and so determined to be right that mere practicalities (the buckets were exactly the same) did not dissuade her. Gotta love toddlers.
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