“Up doggy,” Emily instructed.
Her little sister obediently went from the floor to her knees and opened her mouth for a cracker. While laughing and barking, they took turns being puppies.
When Emily left the room, Molly stretched a headband around her neck. “That my leash,” she said.
“That could hurt your neck,” I told her.
Emily called out, “Molly, put it around your waist.”
I repeated Emily’s command, but Molly just sat at my feet with the headband circling her throat.
Her big blue eyes stared at me. In her two year old voice she said, “I not know where my waist is.”
With a laugh, I told her it was at the top of her pants. With a yank, the headband was off but still not on her waist.
“I not know how to get it on my waist.”
With some help, she was able to pull the band over her legs and up to her waist. She was ready for Emily to take her for a walk.
Her refusal to follow my directions wasn’t that she was being stubborn or defiant. She didn’t understand the instructions. Her simple statement allowed me to help her instead of assuming she was obstinate.
If only adults could learn from the innocence of little children. They don’t worry that they will be embarrassed or judged if they don’t know something. They just speak their minds.
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