"Point to Your Tiger on the Chart"
Think back to an earlier Abbie Update entry where I discussed Abbie’s development of fear. She showed fear of two and only two things: an alphabet book filled with dog pictures and a book about tigers. I have new developments to report, kind of like how that one American Idol guy now has creepy cell phone messages form Paula Abdul to report.
I left Abbie with mommy for a while the other night for some reason which may or may not be related to an ice cream run. I can’t remember. During their time together, Ellie discovered that disturbing distorted photos of dogs and being chased by tigers no longer frightens Abbie. Ellie read both books to her with no consequences worse than a multi-inch long streamer of drool, which probably was not dog or tiger related. I learned about this new development when I noticed both books were on the floor with the rest of her regular reads. The books she doesn’t read, either because she doesn’t like them or because their pages are easily shredded regular paper, are banished to her bookshelf. Ellie confirmed that they had read the books together without incident.
A couple of days later, I forgot that the books had been elevated to “enjoyable” status and deposited them back on her bookshelf, and Abbie promptly pulled them back off the shelf. Now that she can stand unsupported, she loves pulling things off heretofore-unreachable heights, like books off the shelf*, remotes off the couch, and pots and pans out of the cupboards. The process of pulling things off involves dropping them to see if any further interesting elements manifest, and if not she reaches for more objects. When she drops pots and pans, they clang and clatter but nothing else, so she reaches for more pots and pans. She can clear an entire cabinet in 49 seconds flat. When she drops remotes, batteries tend to appear, and those are fun to munch so the pulling stops. When she pulls books, they tend to open to appealing pictures, so she stops pulling and starts reading. This is how I found Abbie, with both previously frightening books open at her feet. I decided to read both to her, starting with the dog alphabet book. She looked less than excited to see this one again, but she never screamed and that’s close enough to success for me. Then I read the tiger book, and as sure as LaTroy Hawkins blowing a one-run ninth-inning lead, she cried when we arrived at the final page and its hungry tiger.
So to recap, reading the book with mommy elicits no crying, reading the book alone elicits no crying, but reading the book with daddy opens the floodgates. I might as well take it as a compliment that I bring her books to life. Kind of like how that American Idol guy can take it as a compliment that he can elicit phone calls from Paula Abdul.
* Oddly enough, Abbie never pulls the books at ground level off their shelf. Go figure.
I left Abbie with mommy for a while the other night for some reason which may or may not be related to an ice cream run. I can’t remember. During their time together, Ellie discovered that disturbing distorted photos of dogs and being chased by tigers no longer frightens Abbie. Ellie read both books to her with no consequences worse than a multi-inch long streamer of drool, which probably was not dog or tiger related. I learned about this new development when I noticed both books were on the floor with the rest of her regular reads. The books she doesn’t read, either because she doesn’t like them or because their pages are easily shredded regular paper, are banished to her bookshelf. Ellie confirmed that they had read the books together without incident.
A couple of days later, I forgot that the books had been elevated to “enjoyable” status and deposited them back on her bookshelf, and Abbie promptly pulled them back off the shelf. Now that she can stand unsupported, she loves pulling things off heretofore-unreachable heights, like books off the shelf*, remotes off the couch, and pots and pans out of the cupboards. The process of pulling things off involves dropping them to see if any further interesting elements manifest, and if not she reaches for more objects. When she drops pots and pans, they clang and clatter but nothing else, so she reaches for more pots and pans. She can clear an entire cabinet in 49 seconds flat. When she drops remotes, batteries tend to appear, and those are fun to munch so the pulling stops. When she pulls books, they tend to open to appealing pictures, so she stops pulling and starts reading. This is how I found Abbie, with both previously frightening books open at her feet. I decided to read both to her, starting with the dog alphabet book. She looked less than excited to see this one again, but she never screamed and that’s close enough to success for me. Then I read the tiger book, and as sure as LaTroy Hawkins blowing a one-run ninth-inning lead, she cried when we arrived at the final page and its hungry tiger.
So to recap, reading the book with mommy elicits no crying, reading the book alone elicits no crying, but reading the book with daddy opens the floodgates. I might as well take it as a compliment that I bring her books to life. Kind of like how that American Idol guy can take it as a compliment that he can elicit phone calls from Paula Abdul.
* Oddly enough, Abbie never pulls the books at ground level off their shelf. Go figure.
posted by Matt at
10:25 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home