Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The sweetest bully on the block


It may come as a shock to you that I used to know absolutely nothing about child psychology. Fatherhood has begun to change that to a degree. I figure my still profound lack of knowledge on the subject will manifest itself multiple times over the years, but for now I know this: My little 20-month-old is the cutest, sweetest, most innocent-looking, bully on the block.

Isla has developed a brand of determined assertiveness that would make many politicians cower. Our 3-year-old, Aislynn, is bearing the brunt of this behavior.

Consider if you will the other day, when Isla stole a toy from Aislynn. Aislynn meekly attempted to recover the toy, only to be met with a Heisman-worthy stiff arm. The resulting touch caused Aislynn to reel and exclaim, "Whoooooooooooooooooooooooaaah!" as she ran up the stairs. Upon reaching the top, she pleaded, "Isla, don't push me up the stairs!"

Aislynn's rather compliant temperament (see: wimpy) serves to exaggerate Isla's surliness, to be sure. A number of times last week, a stern "Mine!" from the youngest accompanied by that patented stiff arm would send the oldest running for cover in the downstairs bathroom while registering the complaint, "Isla pushed me into the bathroom!" Isla, meanwhile, remained unmoved by her sister's plight, judging by her furrowed brow.

From what little I've read, the second child is not necessarily more aggressive purely by virtue of being the second child. I am, after all, a second child, but I don't remember being told I was all that aggressive as a toddler. (Mom, chime in any time here.)

So it is what it is: Isla, all 22 pounds of her, has run of playtime, while Aislynn fails to figure out she's older and bigger. To be clear, I'm not at all worried that my girls are abnormal in this or that there's a problem. Isla clearly loves her "Sish," as she calls her. Besides, I have a feeling Isla will find out soon enough there are some people she can't push around - like mom and dad.

That's when the charm will be employed. And there may not be any stopping her then.

You feel me?

AF
Posted by at 5:36 PM

1 comments:

  1. Isla is simply adorable.

    And until my little brother came along... that was me. Although my older sister was much older, and she was very bossy when my parents were not looking, so any and all spunk that came from me was well deserved. Maybe Aislynn is the one you should be looking out for? ;-)

    Just kidding both of the girls are adorable! You and Brooke should be very proud.

    Good luck with the teen years.
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