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The Lesson from the Episode of My Daughter and Her Toothpaste
How my daughter reminded me I needed to step back and watch her struggle a bit to get better.
“Mummy, I want to do it myself!”
Said my 4-year-old defiantly as she tried to squeeze toothpaste out from an almost empty tube in one hand, onto her toothbrush.
A few thoughts passed through my head at that moment.
If I had helped her, she would have lost the opportunity to learn to problem-solve the tasks at hand.
I also did not want to discourage her enthusiasm to learn and diminish her potential to be more independent.
She’s my youngest of three, and in a way, I’ve babied her a lot more than her older siblings, because in my eyes, I still viewed her as a toddler, and I wanted this era of her childhood to continue.
“Alright Emma, you do it” I said.
It definitely took longer than it should, usually, I would whip out the toothpaste, squeeze it for her and brushed her teeth. It was mainly due to time, we were usually back late after work and dinner, and bedtime routines sometimes needed to be rushed.
I watched her struggle to squeeze out a large pea-size amount and drag it over her…
