If kids could skip an entire year and go from one to three, that would be just fine with me. My younger son is in the throes of the Two's about now (even though he's four, just doing things on his own timetable), and it is like living with the Toddler From Hell. At that point they are all action and will, but little direction. So guess who bears the brunt of their frustration that Life Isn't What They Thought It Would be? That's right, you and me. And this is why:
Two-year-olds act in response to things. They have no idea why they do what they do, they just do it. And then they are confused by the responses they get when they do. Does it do the same thing the 100th time? Let's fine out! But by the age of about 32 months kids begin to think about their behavior in terms of what will come of it. They feel they have some amount of control over their worlds. Ta da! The lightbulb appears, and they magically move from "stimulus-outcome learning" to "fully intentional goal-directed action".
And then we all breathe that big sigh of relief. The Year of Frustration is over.
So who will invent the Toddler Cage, designed as a safe enticing sound-proof environment in which to keep your two-year-old until he reaches that magic moment?
Photo: www.bounty.com
