Take a moment to read…
You may have seen this floating around on the internet. It’s funny because it’s SO true. Oliver thinks that everything is his. He shouts “mine!” with conviction about anything from the lobster tank in the grocery store to the drill Daddy is using to build the deck. However, his “mine!” is never so fierce as when it’s directed at another toddler.
The sandbox at our favourite park is a bit of a battle ground for the toddlers of the neighbourhood. It’s like a scene from Braveheart but instead of blue-tatooed Scots shouting “freedom!” there are sand encrusted two year olds yelling “mine!” while brandishing plastic shovels. Of course all the parents jump in to staunch the flow of tears and encourage their little ones to share and play nicely.
Interacting with the other parents at the sandbox is the most awkward part of the whole “mine!” thing. Oftentimes you have to apologize on behalf of your overzealous child. Or you say in a loud voice something like, “You have to share the toys, honey. When that boy is done playing you can have a turn” which is really code for the other kid’s parent translating into, “please make your kid share that toy with my kid.”
Most of the time though, we laugh and roll our eyes at our greedy little offspring and their presumptions that everything in their line of vision belongs to them. We feel comforted in the fact that they’ll eventually grow up into well adjusted adults that share everything and play nicely.
Hey, wait a minute…
diary of an ex-east yorker 