19 Months Old

One of Natalie's many silly faces!

Natalie thinks it's hilarious to sniff rapidly - probably because I did it to her once.  :)

Natalie came to my classroom while I got things ready at the end of Winter Break. Here she is coloring in a desk that's way to big for her!

Now that she is 19 months old, she is definitely starting to whine in order to get her way. We are trying to stay strong and either ignore the behavior, redirect her attention to something else, or encourage her to use her words to communicate. I know she is just testing what's acceptable and what's not, but it is so annoying! Regardless, we love her and she is actually pretty tame compared to some other kids we've experienced in public.

As I was reading articles related to toddler discipline, I came across this interesting piece of advice:
No matter how frustrated you feel about your child's misbehavior, don't vent about it in front of him. "If people heard their boss at work say, 'I don't know what to do with my employees. They run the company, and I feel powerless to do anything about it,' they'd lose respect for him and run the place even more," says Pearson. "It's the same thing when children hear their parents speak about them in a hopeless or negative way. They won't have a good image of you as their boss, and they'll end up repeating the behavior."

I never thought of it that way! I tell ya, I could cruise these baby websites for hours - there is so much useful information! Right now I'm mostly reading up on discipline strategies and nutrition, but I'm sure something else will come up that needs attention.  :)