The Noodle

This is by far my toddler’s favorite move.  You know how toddlers have a mind of their own?  And they don’t tend to like doing something that isn’t 100% their idea?  Enter what I like to call “The Noodle”.

The Noodle most often occurs when I am trying to get Greenleigh to leave daycare and she sees that toy that she needs to play with at that very minute.  Never mind that she has been there for 8 hours and the toy sat completely untouched all day.  She must have that toy now.  I gently encourage her to leave and hold out my hand so she knows I’m planning to walk out the door.  Instead of reaching out to hold my hand, she reaches out grabs the toy, and falls to the floor clutching the toy.  How in the world did she figure out that it is a pain in the butt for me to put everything down and pick her up?  Oh, but it gets better.  She has made herself completely limp, laying there like a wet noodle.  It takes twice the energy and effort to pick her up off the floor.  Now that she is a little older, I can now do a 1-2-3 count with the threat of a time out, which works, but nevertheless we still must go through this drill at least 3 times per week.

The Noodle also occurs when I am trying to hold her hand and I’m not going the exact direction she would like to go.  Now I’m all about taking the scenic route, but sometimes there aren’t alternate ways to get to your car, know what I mean?  Plus, she is often trying to go the opposite way of our intended destination, which is problematic.  So right then and there, as we are no doubt crossing a lane of traffic, her legs just go out.  It normally takes me a second or two to notice that she has stopped walking and I am pretty much dragging her.  This looks really, really bad to the general public who may not realize that The Noodle is in full effect.  Once I stop her body just falls to the ground, which means she is actually sitting/laying in the road.  This of course leaves me with a determination to make – Do I stop and allow my toddler to lay in the road until I can put everything down, resituate, and get her on her feet?  Or do I drag her by the hand across the lane of traffic and resituate there?  I normally pick the latter.

Perhaps the most annoying example of The Noodle is when we are in a restaurant and my toddler is done eating.  She doesn’t like to sit on her own at the table, but will eat if she can sit on my lap.  Not ideal, but it allows us to eat out, so I have made my peace with it.  Once the food is no longer interesting, she will squirm through my arms, off my lap, and end up under the table.  Any attempt to lift her by grabbing her under her arms are met with her arms going limp, so she slides right through my grasp and wiggles back onto the floor.  We eventually get her back to the table, but only after she has had a good laugh at us.

Patience is a virtue I suppose.