How to communicate with your mother

I do worry about Brae's reluctance to use words. You try not to compare them to other kids (or your family's memories of what a chatterbox you were alleged to be), but it happens.

I think comparisons are a necessary evil that we parents try to keep in check.

Braeden has shown that he's every bit his father's kid in that he adores TV. Lately I've been cracking down on this addiction, and he only gets 1 hour of his programmes each day, and then the TV gets turned off and we go DO something.

Yesterday I decided to watch a programme I had on tape.

Brae came wandering in after a while with his drum, and sat with his back to the TV.

"Are you drumming, darling?"

"noooooo!"

"Oh! You're NOT drumming?"

"noooooo!"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Nooooo!"

"But you are, darling. You're sitting down, and playing with your drum!"

"Noooo!"

(Then he cast a very telling look over his shoulder, then gazed back at me and said "Noooo!")

"OH!" I exclaimed. "What you're trying to tell me is that you don't like what's on the TV, and you want your programme?"

At this, he threw both arms in the air, rolled his eyes, and shouted "Yayyyyy!"

I fell apart laughing at the clever little basket, but no, I didn't change the channel :-)

Ooops. Better go. I let him take his toy piano to bed with him, and I guess he's awake from his nap because I hear lots of music coming through the monitor...