Big Little Boy

"The blower was blowing at me."

Theo had a nightmare that featured a man with a leaf blower. It took me several tries before I understood what he was saying. It was just too bizarre. Instead of dragons or tigers or spiders, the boy has leaf blower nightmares.

And then at other times he's so aware of his feelings. "Dad, you need to take care of me." What it turned out to be was that I'm trying too hard to make him "grow up", and function like a respectable five-year-old. "Theo, don't get your yogurt all over your face. Theo, don't push your sister. Theo, put that back. Theo, ..." He seems so smart that I forget he's just small. Instead of discipline, he needs a hug. Instead of yelling, he needs conversation. "You need to take care of me" says a lot.

There's still some processing to do. Where does spoiling come into the picture for us? And maybe some things do need to be punished. Maybe he'll try to take advantage of the situation. I'm not so worried about all that until he feels loved enough.