My son and I took some tennis rackets to the park the other day to hit a ball around. We had earlier hit the ball around the house, and this was the extension of that. I was having trouble pitching the ball to a spot where he could hit it. Wind correction and other factors threw me off.
He took this rather personally, as he thought I was doing this on purpose, and making him miss. He, for better or worse, doesn't realize that his old man is unpracticed (inept) at these things. So he stormed off.
My son has always gotten upset rather easily, but this is new for him. It's sadness. It breaks my heart, even though I know it's a perfectly normal emotion in the human spectrum. So I sat with him a little and asked if everything is OK. He's at an age where he has a hard time talking when he's upset. So I just let it be, and sat with him for awhile. Finally, he says "I love you dad." Which is something, I think, he says sometimes when he doesn't know what else to say. But it is a very nice default setting. : )
3 comments:
It sounds like he hasn't quite come around to the mommy-and-daddy-are-fallible crisis yet, and he still thinks of you as omnipotent. Heh, enjoy it while it lasts!
When your mind is developing faster than your motor skills, situations like this one can become very frustrating very quickly. Just as you hope he knows that your pitching isn't personal, I hope you know that his grumpiness isn't personal either. And, "I love you," is the best of all possible default settings. 8)
we sure have a feisty kid! aaah i love it. been there. was there about 10 minutes ago. he is so passionate. all that emotion in such a little body.
been there. was there about 10 minutes ago. we have such a feisty kid! all that emotion in one little body. i love it.
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