Territorial Toddler Antics

[matrixrefugee]

I had to work this afternoon... only a short shift, but the teenagers are being completely obNOXious: I think they have bad, bad cases of cabin fever, so the kids are fighting with each other as a way to mask hitting on each other....

But the high point of the night was the Testy, Territorial Toddler: I'm bagging this one order for a lady with a little boy sitting in the little seat part of the shopping cart, and the kid is *watching* the stuff going down the conveyor belt. Then this toy, a little blackboard and chalk or something like that, comes down: I put it in the bag... And the little fellow looks right at me, yelling -- though not too loudly -- "Mine! *Mine*! *MINE!* Ahhhh!!!" Right in my face, as I'm putting the bag in the cart. So I reared back and holding up my hands in meek surrender, I said, "Is it so bad? I'm just trying to do my job?" in a disarming voice. All this time, the mother is saying to the kid, "She's just trying to put the groceries in bags so Mommy can carry them." etc. But the kid is just not convinced. She starts to reach into the carriage for the bag with the slate, so I took it out and gave it to the kid... Who held onto it and *glared* at me. I just had to chuckle... The mother explains to me, in the end, that he usually isn't this grouchy, but he hadn't had a nap that afternoon. So I jokingly replied, "Darn, I can't win with this job: If I take it easy, I get in trouble; If I do my job right, I still get into trouble."

Comments

[veilofveronica.livejournal.com]

that's toddlers for you =)
Don't take it personal, i used to work at a daycare.
children are very concrete at that age, they just "don't get" that the toy is going in the bag and they will see it again, at their stage of development all they can see is someone putting the toy where they can't see it, therefore it is gone.
And no nap will make anyone grouchy LOL

[matrixrefugee.livejournal.com]

Oh, I get it completely: My mom has babysat my dad's friend "Norman's" little girl since the kid was knee-high to a knee, so I've seen some really wacky infant/toddler/preschooler/grade-schooler antics over the years!