One of the hardest things for parents, professionals, teachers and connected others to grasp is that our children’s physical development and the number of years they have achieved so far are not always an accurate indictor of where they are developmentally.
*What I do
*And what they say
I like to throw things around.
‘I hope you pick them up afterwards.’
I can’t calm myself down.
‘Why?’
I have big issues with food.
‘oh, that’s annoying.’
I have wee and poo issues and sometimes I smear.
‘Ugh, that’s disgusting.’
I make a big mess everywhere.
‘How unfair on everyone else.’
I often hit out at people.
‘You’ll soon stop when they hit you back.’
I struggle to make friends.
‘I’m not surprised.’
I can be cruel to animals.
‘You should be ashamed of yourself.’
I am frightened to do what you say.
‘just start listening and doing as you’re told.’
I sometimes run away.
‘How can you put others through that worry?’
I often use a whiny voice.
‘Oh, grow up.’
I can’t express my emotions very well.
‘That’s just an excuse for bad behaviour.’
Sometimes I say things I shouldn’t.
‘Learn to zip it then.’
I am rude to adults.
‘You should learn sine manners.’
I make a mess of my clothes.
‘You need to learn to look after things.’
I make an even bigger mess of my room.
‘Well, blinking tidy it up then.’
I often tell tall stories.
‘You mean you’re a liar.’
I took sweets from the shop without paying.
‘Thief.’
I often forget to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
‘How ungrateful.’
I struggle to fall asleep and often keep others awake.
Selfish.’
I talk a lot and ask lots of silly questions.
‘Oh, give it a break.’
I follow my parents my parents around everywhere.
‘You need to give others their own space.’
I often cry and scream when I want something.
‘HOW OLD ARE YOU?’
I am a toddler....
Poem is an extract taken from Therapeutic Parenting Essentials: Moving from Trauma to Trust – Written by Sarah Naish, Sarah Dillon and Jane Mitchell
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