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Help! I think my child is the devil
A friend confided in me recently "I'm concerned my youngest has pathological tendencies. She just won't stop hitting her sister and being horribly aggressive for no apparent reason".
When my youngest was 18 months old I worried that he was unlovable. Not by me of course, I adored him, but I thought his angry, overly-physical, stubborn streak wouldn't win him any admirers elsewhere. He winged a lot, frequently bit his brother to near bleeding, clawed at my face and screamed at me like a hyena when he was overtired. It wasn't a total surprise that people didn't take to him like they had his quieter, more cerebral brother.
And he was physically big. Had put on more than a pound a week, every week during his first six months and he had the strength of someone years older. To be fair, he WAS pretty scary.
At moments he reminded me of Damian from the Omen. He was relentless.
And when he started preschool I thought my worst fears had come true. I started hearing things. Twitterings. "Oh good luck with that one!" "Oh is HE back in today?" What DO you do when your child is the one the teachers or caregivers dread coming into work to look after?
But then something happened. Though still stubborn and prone to outrageous displays of willful abandon another side of him flourished. A ridiculously cute, affectionate, and funny side that blinded you to his misdemeanors.
And of course it helped that he had the most perfect bum in the world, and that his sensuous, passionate self adored nothing more than to give cuddles and kisses.
Now everyone can't get enough of him. And I am so relieved.
So I told my friend to just hang tight. Very few babies actually turn out to be the devil. Or at least, I haven't met one yet.
Now please can you take your finger out of my ear, stop stamping on your brother’s head and refrain from wiping your bare backside on the sofa. Thank you.
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Thu Jan 12, 2012 - 3:48 pm
So true. I always wonder how serial killers are as babies. Am I the only one with that wierd thought?Reply -
3 replies, Last reply by StitchesAndStretchmarks on Sun Jan 15, 2012 at 6:38 pm
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Fri Jan 13, 2012 - 2:10 pm
Until my second child was in high school (he's 22 now), I had to be VERY specific about what he could and could not do, every single day. "Do not climb the bookcases, do not climb on top of the kitchen cabinets, do not drink any of the coffee". If I didn't say "do not climb on the roof of the house, do not climb out your second story bedroom window, do not eat the entire bag of chocolate chips" that is precisely what he would do. When he turned 13, something clicked on in his head and he was able to police his own behavior and was quite the model child, but before then...hoo boy.Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by marketingtomilk on Fri Jan 13, 2012 at 5:59 pm
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Thu Jan 12, 2012 - 5:07 pm
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing...he was pretty bad ass...Reply
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