As a single father that obviously wasn't born with "motherly" instincts, I have to remind myself that my daughter is supposed to act like a 3 year old, after all she is a 3 year old. It can be a difficult thing to remember at times, but that doesn't make it any less true. We spend so much time together and she acts so great most of the time that I sometimes forget that she's only 3.
Like when she still wets the bed. My initial reaction used to be to get upset and say things to her like, "Why are you still peeing the bed, Cam? You know better than that." Then I have to check myself, and remember that she's only 3 for God's sake. I told my ex recently that it's going to be fine. I mean honestly, it's not like she's going to be twelve years old and still wetting the bed.
I think we, as parents, take ourselves entirely too seriously sometimes, and forget that are children are…well, children! I certainly know that I do. This reminds me of an example. Recently my daughter was trying out a trampoline for the first time. She was very hesitant and was even scared for about a ½ an hour. But slowly, she started jumping a little bit and was having quite a lot of fun. She was still hesitant about this trampoline thing though, and kept saying how it was "squishy". This made me realize something…I would imagine that a trampoline would be a different experience for someone who's never been on one before, and has only been on this planet for 3 years, total. I think many of us forget that many of the things that we as adults take for granted are completely new experiences for our young children.
The important thing is for all of us to keep in mind that a 3-year old is supposed to act like a 3-year old, it's as simple as that. And never forget what Bill Vaughan said about the subject of 3-year olds, "A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm." Amen Bill, I couldn't agree more.
Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com. He has more than 15 years of business experience and 25 years of fishing experience. He currently raises his 3 year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country…..Montana.
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