Braids, beads, and weave

OK, so the big question about how young is too young for weave has entered my head a few times and I can proudly and confidently say through my own personal experience that the answer is..... based soley on one's personal preference. I think as a parent, guardian, or caretaker, it is left to a person's own disgression as to whether or not they even choose to put weave in their child's head much less at what age. At present, Tamia is 2 1/2 yrs old and she began wearing weave at the age of one for two reasons 1: She pulled out her hair if there was nothing to protect is (and she still does) and 2: it allowed for more versitile hairstyles being that because she was a hair puller, she didn't have much to work with. I LOVE fixing and coming up with children hairstlyes and for that reason, I made that decision. I do however understand that some people don't agree with my decision and that's fine, people have the right to do with their children as they please. As for Tamia, she will continue to wear very appropriate hairstyles with weave since I am the one who combs and styles her hair but make no mistakes about it, she wears her natural hair as well and even moreso than weave and she is very happy either way, she just loves the end results if she can shake it! :)

 

The Power of Play

In this entire process, I've been extremely grateful to God for His attention to detail in all areas of my life but the area that has been most evident lately is that of Tamia. I don't think that coincidence caused me to pick this time in my life to persue a degree in early childhood education or to meet some of the people that I have been meeting lately.

The thing that has been most apparent to me in my degree program is the importance of play as it is the child's way of not only expressing themself or being creative, it is their way of learning the world around them and how it works. I find myself being stricter than I should be about a messy room but I find myself backing off when I realize that at this age, my neice and nephew and my little sister need the liberty to play for hours at a time if possible. I also find myself a tad too germaphobic these days so it's a little hard but I'm making time for outdoor play as well.

Sleeping Beauty.....Even on the floor

The thing that is most encouraging with Tamia is the fact that she know's when she has reached her limit of consciousness and is not afraid to put herself to bed which is a small but huge feat in a house where her counterparts (my neice and nephew) have to be forced to sleep. I also love the fact that she can sleep pretty much anywhere in the car, in bed, in someone's lap, in the light, in the dark, in a room filled with loud noise and recently..... on the floor if she happens to fall out of the bed. That's my girl!

Small problems

Making it back home on May 1st, my dad brought Tamia to me thevery next day. I was a little apprehensive because for the past two months, she had been spending most of her time with her aunt so I was afraid that she would have detachment issues. I couldn't have been farther from wrong. She's such an easy-spirited person that she just goes wherever the wind blows her which could potentially be her strength and weakness. Anyways, what I did have trouble with was the habits that she had. She was still on a sippy cup which wasn't the real problem, the problem was, she asked for it at night and expected to have milk. She was still not potty trained which I was actually expecting. What I didn't expect however, was the fact that she learned pretty much every curse word from the people that she had been exposed to. I was a little shocked admittedly but I couldn't be too shocked because taking my early childhood classes while I was away really taught m just how influential environment and actions are to the young brain. The very night that my dad brought her to me, we went to the store and her behavior was less than pleasing. She touched EVERYTHING that we passed and verbal discipline and warnings were so foreign to her that she didn't respond to them at all. As we approached the checkout line, Tamia asked for something and I informed her that as a result of her behavior, she wasn't getting it. I'm almost certain that the only thing she got out of it was "NO" and that was enough to set her over the edge. She proceeded to kick me and scream from the front of the basket and when I attempted to restrain her, she pulled down on the collar of my shirt and exposed my bra to anyone who was looking. I was extremely embarrased but what was I to do? There I was with a 2yr old who at the time, saw me every once in a while, had recently been exposed to some bad things, and was reacting to being told no. I restrained her and told her that she wasn't getting anything and I knew from that moment, she would not have the opportunity to embarrass me in the store that way ever again. That night when I got her home, we ate, I bathed her and gave her a cup of milk, and rubbed her back until she fell asleep. Once she was sleeping, I pulled out the big guns, I got on the phone and dialed up my professor who has a master's degree in early childhood education, explained to her the situation, and asked for advice. She advised me of how to handle such behavior and I'm happy to report that our outings have been much more successful and the cursing has almost completely ceased. Now to tackle the sippy cup and potty training problems O_o