Molly’s life moto is: “I don’t like trying things, I like doing things.” This basically means she’s not patient enough to listen and learn from other people and she has to do everything on her own.
She’s been like that since I can remember. At the age of two, it once took her literally 45 minutes to put her shoes on. But she did it. On her own. And, since she was the only child at the time, I had my coffee in peace, watching her struggle, not allowed to help.
She has a similar approach to school now. At the moment, she’s teaching herself to read and wants no help. I find it frustrating. I get impatient listening to her mispronouncing sounds and making words up.
A couple of days ago I was watching her attempting to read a book to Oskar and we were both getting irritable – me with her not being concentrated enough, her with me correcting her too often.
To focus on something else, I went to take a photo of “my little girl reading to her brother”. The front camera surprised me and I was quite shocked to see my own face. Here’s a photo of a “supportive mum listening to her little girl reading”.
It’s not a wonder she wasn’t into it. My face conveyed all of my enthusiasm. 🙈😂
Message to myself: I need to get back mentally to the place from five years ago, where I was able to observe her patiently. I need to look for clues on when and how to get involved myself.
First steps: (Fake) smile. Deep breaths. Silent encouragement. Let her do her thing at her own pace. She’s trying, soon she’ll be “doing”. 😉