Bossypants
Monday, August 31st, 2015From Monday Mo – Neetika:
I was thrilled yesterday at the park when another mom and her little girl came over to play with Haley. The adorable little girl was named Hazel, age 3, and she was enamored with the many princess toys Haley had with her. At first, the girls played nicely together. They role-played princesses and kicked around a ball. But soon, Haley became unreasonably annoyed. Now, I’m sure to Haley there was a reason. But seeing as how she’s 4, what that reason was and how to overcome it was a mystery to us adults. All I know is that it had something to do with the fact that everyone wasn’t doing exactly what she wanted.
Haley usually loves meeting other little girls and plays very well with them. So when she started being bratty, I was shocked and perturbed. She suddenly refused to play with Hazel. I was mortified, but the small blessing was that Hazel seemed oblivious and just kept playing with Haley’s ‘Elsa’ and ‘Anna’ on her own.
I tried to reason with Haley, but she wasn’t having it. I need to just chalk it up to having a bad day. Yet I wonder what to do moving forward. What if these incidents increase in frequency and intensity? How do I instill in Haley the need to treat all playmates with respect, whether we are in the mood to or now? I am not a perfect person, but I’ve always tried to show an example of kindness to my kids. Do I just hope that eventually her goodness will just “take”?
On some level, Haley’s bad behavior is age appropriate. She’s probably testing limits and practicing social interactions. It’s normal. Even if it makes me cringe! I hope ‘Mean Girl’ leaves us as quickly as she arrived.