Growing Tall

Hayden, like all kids, doesn’t always want to eat what he’s given, particularly the healthy stuff.  So John and I like to remind him that the healthy stuff is good because it makes him grow faster.  He loves to talk about how tall he will be when he’s older and when he’ll be taller than Daddy.  So when he’s eating he will ask if he is growing taller because he is eating something healthy.  He will also say that he doesn’t want to grow taller when he really just doesn’t want to eat something that is good for him.  Some days he is ok with not being taller because he really cannot be asked to eat those carrots!  Similarly, we are doing a sticker chart right now, and there are certain things he can do to earn a sticker which will earn him a prize once the sticker chart is filled out, such as putting shoes on the first time he’s asked, putting his clothes on himself, and taking his dirty dishes to the sink.  (He actually asked for the sticker chart himself when some stickers came in the mail.)  He was really into the sticker chart at first, but now when he needs to do something for which he would earn a sticker he will just tell us he doesn’t want to do it because he doesn’t want a sticker.  In fact, yesterday he told John he didn’t want to put his pajamas on himself because he didn’t want a sticker.  He ended up putting them on, but he didn’t want the sticker…  Four year olds can be complicated creatures!

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