Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Modern Mamahood: The Puppy-Stage of Toddlerhood


As my wee one, Regina Jade enters toddlerhood, she's basically turned into a puppy. I'm not sure how long the puppy stage will last, but I think there should be a chapter about the puppy stage in most child-rearing educational books.

Knowing whether or not your child is like a puppy might give parents insight into how to care for and entertain their little one. I've broken down the characteristic similarities between my child and a puppy, in a very scientific way, for you to measure puppy-ness in your own tot.

Cuteness - Like a puppy, she is super cute...people squeal when they see her and would pet her if I'd let them.

Going Outside - RJ always wants to go outside. If she gets the idea herself she'll stand at the door and indicate she wants to go out. If someone mentions going outside, she gets super excited and runs to the door to be let out.

Marking Territory - While puppies mark their territory with pee, RJ marks hers in her own way. As she bops along in a new environment, she touches nearly every single thing on her path.

Scrounging for Food - Puppies are notorious for begging for food or standing around waiting until someone throws them a frickin' bone here. RJ does the exact same thing when others are eating in front of her.

Whining - RJ's whines when she doesn't know a word for something, or just doesn't feel like using a word, and it sounds a lot like a puppy's whine: "eh, eh, eh, eh?"

Sleeping Well - After nearly a year of not "sleeping like a baby" through the night, RJ finally has this one down and sleeps like a pro, much like a worn out puppy.

Playful - It's no surprise that toddlers and puppies are both playful, they want to play play play, 80% of the time.

Untrained - Like a puppy, RJ hasn't yet learned how to pee in a more socially acceptable place. She is also not capable of walking alongside her "owner" for long. Both advancements will take dedicated training.

Loves Balls and Parks - Puppies and RJ love playing with balls...fetch is one of their favorites. She also loves parks, just like puppies.

Acting Like a Puppy - One of RJ's favorite animals is the puppy, and she's learned how to take on the characteristics of a puppy by barking and panting. When she does this, its become extremely hard to tell the difference.

What should you do if you feel your child might actually be a puppy, or really close to one? Simple: give her cuddles, food, guidance, understanding and let him or her run wild as often as possible. I personally am not a fan of the child-leash, but in extreme cases of child puppydom...I have come to understand their place.

The Modern Mamahood Column on the Ladies Lotto Blog:
As our Ladies Lotto community grows and evolves, we now have quite a few mamas and mamas-to-be! The LL Modern Mamahood weekly column presents the issues and products related to being a Ladies Lotto Mama. Blogger: Lana Perry

2 comments:

The Fashion Buzzw said...

Absolutely love this post! As someone with a toddler I can totally agree with you!

lanaberry said...

Thanks, so happy you can relate! I'll add that like a puppy, she'll also eat any food off the floor of course ;)