J gets stuck on the same book for weeks on end and we read it every night.... Recently I bought him the book pictured above from a school scholastic order.... It was about a Little Monkey that does naughty stuff but the Big Monkey tells him he/she still loves Little Monkey even when he's naughty.... I bought it specifically for J.... When I have to correct him he says I am not his 'friend' or that I don't love him.... Since we started reading the book and he says those things, I refer back to it and say 'Just like Big Monkey still loves Little Monkey... I still love you when you don't make good choices....' I think my point has started getting through to him because tonight after we read it and he finished getting ready for bed he kept calling me 'Big Monkey' and of course wanted me to call him 'Little Monkey'......
It's a sweet little bond that I will remember after he is gone.... I wonder how long he will call me Big Monkey and insist on being my Little Monkey.....
Good night & I love you-- Little Monkey!
ok, you just made me cry. <3
ReplyDeleteMelissa--I love this post and how you found a way to work through communication issues by referring back to the book. We have a book called "Be Nice" that features the Muppet Babies. Whenever DD does something that isn't nice, I say to her "what do the Muppet Babies say?" and she says "be nice!" and I ask "were you being nice?" and she'll (usually) say "no" which helps us to talk about the situation. You are a fantastic mom to J!
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