It’s only been a few days but I already have so much to write about! I thought I’d focus this post on the new concept of giving DJ choices rather than automatically telling him what or what not to do (unless it’s dangerous!).
This seems to be the most difficult category for me. I’ve already become so used to saying, “put that down, come here, no no no!” that to stop and pause and think about two options that I’d be happy with him choosing is sometimes nerve wracking! I’m also realizing that in order to use this with a young toddler, I need to stick with a lot of yes or no questions, or questions that involve “up or down”, “more or all done”. The option of “You decide or I decide” will also be changed to “You choose or I choose”, after I realized that in DJ’s mind, “I decide” sounds very close to “Outside”, which happens to be one of his favorite words and favorite things to do. I did get a good chuckle every time I asked him thought, because he would respond, “Outside!” and get all excited about it. As his vocabulary continues to expand I’ll be able to give him more specific choices, and hopefully by then I’ll be quicker in giving them.