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Week 239: Language, Lies, and Sand August 27, 2008
Well, we've hit another important milestone. Mandy's verbal skills have developed to the point where she and her sister can have "She-said-she-said" type moments. The other night I was cleaning up in the kitchen while Sam and Mandy played in the living room. There was a pause in the sounds of their play and then Mandy started crying. A few seconds later Mandy walks into the kitchen, arms upraised and still crying.
"What happened?" I asked as I picked her up.
"Sister pushed me again," Mandy said. At least that's what it sounded like to me. To less highly trained ears it was probably closer to "Dee-der puh me agin."
"Sammy!" I called to the other room. "Did you push Mandy?"
"No!" Sam called back. "She fell on the hardwood floor. That's the truth. That's all there is!"
"Mandy, is that what happened?"
"Nuh-uh."
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You hear a lot about the miracle of language development in children, its infinite capacity for truth, beauty, inquiry, and connection between kindred souls. But you don't hear a lot about the kind of exchanges I described above. It's like how a lot of people predicted something like television long before it appeared, but none of them foresaw commercials for hemorrhoid creams. Still, all considered, the girls get along really well.
And now I would like to share with you a parenting pro-tip related to an easy little project. Go to a hardware store and buy the following:
- One of those long, shallow plastic bins commonly used for under-the-bed storage. Get one with a snap-on lid.
- A few bags of sand.
Put #2 in #1, ideally out on your porch or patio. Grab various plastic cups and beach toys and toss them in. Call the kids over and announce that they now have their own private sandbox. Revel in your new status as THE BEST MOM/DAD IN THE WORLD. Snap on the lid at night to keep bugs and moisture out.
Seriously, I did this the other weekend. It cost me about $15 and Sam absolutely flipped out with joy over it. She kept chattering away about how much she LOVED her new sandbox and kept thanking me for it over and over again. Best part is that we put it on our back patio, which is enclosed by a fence so we can leave her and Mandy out there to play while we do stuff inside.
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Mandy also loves it, though she insists on sitting inside the box. She also insists on cramming sand in every part of her body she can think of, including mouth, ears, nose, and ...other places. The first time I changed her diaper after setting this all up I must have recovered about a pound of sand, which could NOT have been comfortable and may have explained her highly irritated mood.
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Tags: Amanda, Language, Parenting, Samantha
Comments
Posted by bethany actually on August 27, 2008 8:56 AM:
That is a really good idea about the cheap sandbox! I might have to use that one.
Posted by Todd on August 27, 2008 9:15 AM:
I did this same thing for Emma with a small plastic swimming pool instead. Invariably the sand ended up on the patio instead of in the sand box and we spent more time sweeping up the mess than Emma spent playing in the box. It lasted a few months and then, in exasperation, I tossed it out.
Marla seems to have forgotten this, though, and we now have a new sand box on the patio again. Or, rather, a bunch of sand on the patio that used to be in the sand box.