On her own terms

I tried, most persistently, to persuade Franny to wear her hat to the Fourth of July parade. I was unsuccessful. Since we've been home, however, it has been worn quite frequently--frontwards, backwards, and sideways. With Franny, I have repeatedly learned that she has her own, very strong sense of self and doesn't like to be pushed. I definitely pick my battles with this strong-willed little person, and save them for the important issues. And, I have learned, battles over a hat are too inconsequential to warrant any time and energy. I utilize a lot of the methods detailed in Love and Logic with Franny, to give her as many choices as possible to give her a sense of control over herself and teach her consequences. Of course, she is a toddler and an individual, so there is no magic formula to gracefully achieve this, but it has given me a lot of ideas that help. I have a feeling, though, that these challenging toddler years will pale in comparison to what we will face in the teenage years! In the end, I just hope that she will learn to challenge her will in ways that will help her be a productive and successful individual.