One of the skills in being a good parent is knowing what your child wants. Some things are pretty easy to guess when you consider the auxiliary evidence, like say, when her bottom stinks to high heaven. Ah, her need would be a diaper changing.
Other times, it’s not so evident. Just recently, we’ve gone through a rash of occasions where we just couldn’t figure out what it was Maddie wanted. It’d be meal time, and she’d be whinning and fussing reaching for the food. So, we’d scoop some up and offer it to her. Then she’d violently shake her head, and swipe at the food. Okaay…
Some times, when I’m here on the computer, she’d come in to the room, and try and draw my attention away from the computer. “Mmmm! Mmmmm!” I’d try and finish what I’m doing, unless she finds the pretty light on the power button to the computer. Trust me on this: You only make the mistake of letting babies near pretty power buttons once, if ever.
“Mmmm! Mmmmm!” She’d start tugging at me. Oh, how sweet. She misses me and wants my attention. So I save off my work, and turn my attention to her. Okay, Baby, here comes Da Da!
“Waaah! Eh, waaah! Waa!”
“What, what? I thought you wanted to play with me. What is it? What do you want?”
It took me a while, but it became clear when Maddie would run in a circle around me, grab the chair and make futile little climbing gestures at it.
She wanted to use the computer.
PS. It was the same thing with the food. She didn’t want us to offer her food. She wanted to get it herself.