How does a two year old think?
By miacis3101
@miacis3101 (82)
United States
January 15, 2008 1:29pm CST
I am a new father and I'm raising my son by myself so this is all new to me. I have to wonder exactly what is going through this little man's head sometimes. We have a cat and she is very docile so she lets him do whatever he wants to do to her. However, she has bad days like everyone else and does get irritated with him. One day he was playing with her and she hissed at him. I told him to leave her alone but he kept up and soon enough he had a couple of scratches to prove she meant business. I washed the scratches and told him to leave the cat alone. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he went right back to bugging the cat! You would figure pain would be the the quickest teacher here but he just kept at it. I had to remove the cat from the room! What runs through a two year old's head?!?
1 person likes this
2 responses
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
16 Jan 08
Kids, especially at that age are learning by experiencing things. So, just because he did get scratched certainly does not mean he's going to stop the behavior that got him those scratches because kids are hard headed, and especially at two, they are trying to find out how far they can go before they really get into trouble. They're just trying to prove they can be independent from their parents. It may take him awhile to get out of the phase of not listening and doing things just to see what happens (after all, kids use repetition to find out what happens when they do things, and to see if they do the same thing differently, if they'll get the same response). Just try to keep reminding him what will happen if he goes after the cat and remind him about the scratches she gave him and hopefully it will start to sink in.
@miacis3101 (82)
• United States
16 Jan 08
well, if repetition makes perfect, then I am an expert in yelling, "NO!!!" from across the room.
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
15 Jan 08
HaHa, sounds like you have a little toughy on your hands, plus the terrible two's as they call it!...whew, I feel sorry for you, haha.
My two year olds are now 34 and 39..yes, time does fly by, but that doesn't mean I don't remember it well. Two's are one of the hardest ages for kids, they're into everything and it's all a learning experience for them.
Sometimes it takes more than one pain attack, unfortunately. All I can suggest right now is keep teaching him to be gentle, pet the cat nicely, talk to him soothingly, and take his hand so he learns how to pet softly without hurting. It's just basics and doing the same thing over and over again until he understands.
I'm really happy you removed the cat at that moment so your son didn't get his eyes scratched out.
Just keep teaching him this with all animals, and they'll soon learn to love each other. I'm sure you're a great father, it's just patience.
