My emotional little one
Our little girl has a deeply sensitive soul. It's true that she possesses enough feistiness and sass of a mood-swinging teenager, yes. But beneath that fiery exterior, there's a very emotional and sensitive little girl. She's a feeler... she feels it all. Happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, sympathy, compassion, all of it. As a parent, it gets a little, extremely exhausting. Since the age of two and a half, she and I have struggled seeing "eye-to-eye," if you will. In case you can't tell by my posts, I myself am a feeler with a feisty personality (the poor men in this family). It may seem pathetic that a grown woman struggles in the dealings with a toddler, but it's the darn truth. It's led to studying a lot of how to understand your child parenting books. I HATE parenting books... Let's be honest, I can't keep my eyes open while reading them. So really it's led to me skipping to chapters that apply to our specific situation.
I know what a lot of you are thinking... Oh honey, just wait. It's true, I'm still a young mom and am figuring this out as I go. Each age will come with new challenges, some of which will make these early ones seem small and silly in comparison. But having a child with a strong personality comes with a real learning curve.
Learning to listen and validate her feelings has seriously strengthened our relationship. In the past, her little emotional melt downs (seemingly ridiculous) would leave me frustrated and putting her little buns in time out without even discussing why she was feeling the way she was. I've come to find it's much easier on both of us and actually takes much less time just talking out her little feelings. The other day she said in a teary voice, "mom, you hurt my feelings and made me feel jealous!" Turns out jealous actually meant frustrated ;) . But it's pretty cute listening to her try and explain her emotions. It makes her feel validated and important.
Scarlett needs a LOT of love and time. I think some of this is due to the fact that her special needs little brother requires lots and has to have lots of hands-on time. Scott and I really try to make sure we give her the attention and focus she needs to feel loved to the max. We do one-on-one dates with her often. Trips to the park, see a movie, chick-fil-a (her personal fav) or even just take her on a walk. Whatever the activity, she thrives when it's just her and a parent. It's like a mini recharge. She also needs to feel a lot of love in the home. She insists on family hugs (with all four of us participating), cuddles at night with mom and dad jammed in her twin bed and cozy chats on the couch (often discussing Disney princesses and villains).
A lot of perks come with having a high feeling child. What mom wouldn't love extra cuddles and girl chats with her little BFF? Even if it's following an epic melt down over wanting to wear lipstick to the grocery store....
I pitty the fool who picks on her special brother. She will feel it and they will get a taste of her feisty side. She's an amazing, feely little girl. I'm so lucky to be her mommy.
Now enough of my three-and-a-half years experience of genius parenting epiphanies (insert sarcastic voice). Happy Monday, my peeps!
I love her whimsical dancing...
"Every cloud has a silver lining" I love this shirt.
