Like Looking in the Mirror
While my busy toddler naps, I sit here trying to think of her latest and greatest adventures. It seems like she is changing and evolving (and moving!) so quickly these days, I am just trying to keep up. All of Morgan's new little skills - asking to be picked "up! up!", wanting to climb on the couch, requesting "crackahs" - are all cute, sometimes annoying, and definitely imitations of what the adults around her do! Her demands seem to be increasing daily, and often puzzle me. Only later do I realize that she is mimicking everything we do! It's both a compliment and an insult. Kids really are a reflection of us, and I am seeing both the good, bad, and ugly of myself. Not only do I like to sing, read books, share, cuddle, and play (according to my daughter), but I also like to sit around on the couch, get snacks from the cupboard frequently, talk on the phone, and sigh loudly when I get frustrated! These kinds of things are all she in interested in doing these days, despite the oodles of toys strewn throughout the house. What Mommy (or Daddy or her nanny) do is just what Morgan wants to do! So that has made me reflect lately on the type of role model I am for my daughter.
There are some benefits to this stage in her development: she loves to sweep the floor, push the laundry basket around, and sort her toys. She is really into collecting blocks, dishes or small toys, putting them in a bag or tub, dumping them out, and then putting them back in. She can keep herself occupied for quite a long time, and I am thrilled that objects are actually being picked up after being dumped out! But then what do all these skills say about what I do all day? Clean, do laundry, pick up stuff, organize it, etc. Perhaps I should be doing other things with Morgan besides household stuff (isn't that just reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes?) I suppose I could get all philosophical about it, but I realize it's just a phase and she has A LOT more time to learn all about what she can do. I should find it flattering that she wants to be like Mommy, and I promise to teach her that she can do or be anything she wants in this world. (Although she has taken a recent interest in throwing a ball around, so that makes Sam happy!)
While my busy toddler naps, I sit here trying to think of her latest and greatest adventures. It seems like she is changing and evolving (and moving!) so quickly these days, I am just trying to keep up. All of Morgan's new little skills - asking to be picked "up! up!", wanting to climb on the couch, requesting "crackahs" - are all cute, sometimes annoying, and definitely imitations of what the adults around her do! Her demands seem to be increasing daily, and often puzzle me. Only later do I realize that she is mimicking everything we do! It's both a compliment and an insult. Kids really are a reflection of us, and I am seeing both the good, bad, and ugly of myself. Not only do I like to sing, read books, share, cuddle, and play (according to my daughter), but I also like to sit around on the couch, get snacks from the cupboard frequently, talk on the phone, and sigh loudly when I get frustrated! These kinds of things are all she in interested in doing these days, despite the oodles of toys strewn throughout the house. What Mommy (or Daddy or her nanny) do is just what Morgan wants to do! So that has made me reflect lately on the type of role model I am for my daughter.
There are some benefits to this stage in her development: she loves to sweep the floor, push the laundry basket around, and sort her toys. She is really into collecting blocks, dishes or small toys, putting them in a bag or tub, dumping them out, and then putting them back in. She can keep herself occupied for quite a long time, and I am thrilled that objects are actually being picked up after being dumped out! But then what do all these skills say about what I do all day? Clean, do laundry, pick up stuff, organize it, etc. Perhaps I should be doing other things with Morgan besides household stuff (isn't that just reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes?) I suppose I could get all philosophical about it, but I realize it's just a phase and she has A LOT more time to learn all about what she can do. I should find it flattering that she wants to be like Mommy, and I promise to teach her that she can do or be anything she wants in this world. (Although she has taken a recent interest in throwing a ball around, so that makes Sam happy!)
2 comments:
Hi, Robin! These pictures are adorable! I love your comment about the good, bad, and ugly side of yourself you see through her - I've often thought the same about my kids! My daughter is a big "sigher", too! Morgan is just adorable!
:-) Tracey
Adorable pics!! Love the pot belly and doing chores pics but the last one with the green purse-well, she should have loaned that to Michelle O. to go along with her green shoes and gloves!!! Morgan could have been in DC in spirit!!
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