Standoff

Mr. Mister and I had a battle of the wills this morning. He would not go up the stairs on his own...he insisted on me carrying him. But I wouldn't carry him up. I realized the other day that I always carry him up and he no longer wants to do it on his own. (Of course, he quickly scrambles up when he's trying to escape us or be michevious.) So this morning, I decided to wait it out and make him do it on his own. Easier said than done.

During our twenty minute standoff, I tried putting toys, books, and even off limit items at the top of the stairs for motivation, I tried sitting at the top encouraging him, and I tried disappearing to put laundry away, hoping that if I ignored him, he'd want to come find me. None of these worked. He just sat at the bottom whining and eventually got bored with that and went into the family room to find something to play with. With nap time coming quickly, I decided to compromise.

I put him on the steps, about 4 stairs up. Then I pretended I was chasing him up the steps. He laughed and crawled one step up. So I chased him again, and he went two steps further. This progressed until we finally reached the top!

Mr. Mister has one strong will! I am proud of myself for not giving in and carrying him up...I came close many times. Hopefully this helps make the next time easier.