“By Myself”
My little one who is two years and eight months old as of writing, is always trying her skills and practicing her independence.
Her favorite line to say these days is “By myself”, telling me to let her do things by herself. If not, she will morphed into a disappointed, frustrated, angry little human and I have to let her restart things from where she wants it to be.
In the toilet, when I close the toilet lid and flush, she’ll be mad and say “By myself!” And she will open the lid again to close it again and flush it again. By herself.
When I turn on the faucet to wash my hands, she will say “By myself! And she will turn it off to turn it on again. By herself. The same with getting soap from the dispenser. She doesn’t like it when I put soap in her hands. She wants to do it by herself.
When I close the door upon leaving the toilet, the little human who follows me everywhere I go gives me a disappointed look and says “By myself!” And she will open the door again to close it again. By herself.
When I start vacuuming the floor, she will grab it from me and say “By myself!” And the war will start. I want to do it by myself too, to finish faster. And a vacuum is not a toy! The usual ending is we do it together until my patience lasts or her boredom strikes.
In the garden, when I water the plants with a hose, she will grab it from me and say “By myself!” And another war will start. Oftentimes she likes to over water some plants which I really don’t allow. Especially when she starts watering the house walls, the gravel, or when she points the hose higher she can wet things or people over the fence. The solution is we take turns by counting. I water the plants while I count 1-20 and then it will be her turn for another 20 counts but with my hands guiding her hands to which she doesn’t really like and she keeps saying “By myself! By myself! while trying to let go of my hands from hers.
She is trying her skills and so eager to do things on her own, yet she’s still too little she still needs me most of the time.
I Know How
She learned this phrase when I started praising her for what she does well. Or when she does something new. I tell her “Wow! You know how! With all big smiles and praise. At first, she copies the same exact line “You know how!” until I taught her to use ‘I’ instead of ‘you’.
She says “I know how” when she successfully completes her puzzles; when she buckles her stroller; when she puts on her shoes right, and I can’t remember the rest of the scenarios.