This is how it goes getting Toddler Harbat dressed in the morning:
“Do you want to wear this dress?”
“I wanna party dress. The red one.”
“How about this green corduroy one?”
“No, that one.”
“This one?” [holding up red apple dress]
“That one!” [pointing to closet filled with approximately eight hundred dresses]
“Okay…how about the kitty shirt since we can’t find a red party dress.” [puts away green corduroy dress]
[extreme tears and screaming]
“Okay, now you WANT the green dress?”
[sniffles] “Yeah.”
After a ten-minute brutal negotiation I finally got her dressed. Except for the shoes. She got to pick them out herself. I’m thinking she’s going for a look somewhere between Wicked Witch of the West and Lady Gaga.
Writer, architect, father, husband.
I love her little tights. So cute!
First mistake..saying, "You want to wear this dress?" Always start with the worst choice–offer that which she will definitely decline and then say, "OK, OK if you HAVE to wear THIS one, I guess we can do it just for today" (Make sure THAT is the dress you wanted her to wear originally. Just don't let her see this entry….she'll get wise to you!
Come onnnn….don't you know how to do that? This is what I learned when I worked with middle school girls: just give them two options-if you want them to pick a specific one, make sure the other option sucks. Or if you don't' care, just say "this one or this one?" (with the closet door closed). Then BH still thinks she's making the decisions!
Hey, when can I come visit?