Last night, Joaquin and I were happily playing with his robot's letter-chips while yaya was feeding him. He had neatly laid out the chips in order in 3 rows on the ottoman. He was spelling words that I was dictating to him while I was seated on the easy chair peering over his shoulder. Then he suddenly jerked his head back hitting my left cheekbone. It was so painful I cried out "Ouch!" He immediately said, "Sorry, Wowa" twice.
But I was still reeling from the pain and could neither look at him nor respond to him. I asked for ice to numb the pain. When it had subsided, I looked at Joaquin and he was so pale with a woebegone, guilty look. He had packed up his letter chips and stopped eating. He had moved away from me but still hovered near. I said I was OK and asked him if he wanted to play again but he said no. I then asked if he wanted to play with the ipad in Wowa's room. He first said no, and then said yes. So we went up the stairs but he wouldn't hold my hand. After he climbed to our bed and we played a few number games and mazes, he started to smile again and he was fine. Anna said that something similar happened to her and James. On separate occasions, Joaqs accidentally hit Anna's nose and James' face with his head too. Both times, he said sorry and was so sad after.
It's gratifying to know that at 3, Joaqs already has a strong sense of right and wrong. Though it was accidental, he still felt responsible. The experts are correct. We can start to discipline a child at 3.
No comments:
Post a Comment