A Tough Day at Daycare

One of the things I love most about 2 - 3 year olds is that they have a desire and ability to express themselves, sometimes in very unique ways. My grandchildren are also refreshing my resolve to listen and believe what they are trying to tell me; not always an easy task when imaginations are developing and running wild.

Case in point: Colin and Jen dropped in after their family outing at a local restaurant for dinner. Being a creature of habit, Gillian grabbed my hand as well as her bag of mini-dishes and pots and pans and yelled, "Monster...let's hide Honey!"

We play this game regularly. In involves both of us running into the bedroom, hiding behind the bed and playing with the contents of the bag until the 'monster', aka Daddy or Poppa, come to find us.

Tonight while we were sitting behind the bed and arranging the dishes into various sizes, I asked if she'd had a good day. Her little face instantly screwed up tight and she looked up at me and silently shook her head 'no'.

"Oh dear", I said, "was Maureen angry at you today?"

Again, the face screwed up and the silent head nod 'yes'.

I admit to thinking that Gillian's interpretation of Maureen's mood was probably less than accurate. It turns out it was 'bang on'. Gillian had dropped one of her shoes on the way back from playgroup at the local community centre but had neglected to tell Maureen. When they arrived at Maureen's, Gillian made it clear that she wanted that shoe back and nothing would placate her until the shoe was found.

Maureen had to get 5 small kids back onto the path she'd taken home and continue the trek until the missing shoe was found...which it was. As patient and kind as I know her daycare provider to be, I'm sure Gillian was not Maureen's favourite little girl for a while.

There was a lesson to be learned here and I've learned it; even 2 1/2 year olds have feelings, memories, and emotions.