September 24, 2008 at 8:12 pm (Growing Up, Sunshine)

It’s been a tough few weeks with Sunshine, on top of a tough few months.  She’s turning 4 on Friday.  Sometimes it sounds like she’s turning 14.  We try very hard to speak with kindness in our home.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not perfect, but we try very hard.  That’s why it’s so hard to hear the incredibly sarcastic tone that currently comes out of my daughter’s mouth.  

We give her a “do over”.  She gets a chance to try saying what she wants to say another way, in another tone of voice.  She almost always gets it right the second time.  I really just wish she would say it nicely the first time.  All in all, this is not a bad problem to have.  We’re working on it, and she’s getting better.  I think my problem with this is that I don’t know where she’s picking it up.  Is it us?  We really do try to speak kindly.  I don’t think she’s hearing it at school.  It’s not the Montessori way.  

Maybe my biggest problem with this is that it seems like a little preview of Ms. Sunshine, the Teenage Years.  And it scares the hell out of me.