Being the father of a three year old
I have a three-year-old son, and being a father is a constant challenge for me. Growing up my relationship with my father definitely was not typical, so I don’t have a ton of first hand experience with how things are supposed to be. (Not that I would ever see that as an excuse to give anything but my best effort to my son)
It is hard to explain to other people. Being a dad is very different from being a typical mom (atleast in my mind, tho my mother frequently filled both roles for me). Lately he has begun to throw fits as a method of getting people to give in to him and whatever he wants at that fleeting moment. I try to walk the line of being kind but firm. I don’t want to encourage his behavior so I never give in. This frequently causes him to run to someone else hoping for a different response.
It isn’t that I don’t want to give him the world. I just want him to learn that crying at the drop of a hat to manipulate those around you isn’t the way to get want you want in life. I’m pretty convinced that he is just being dramatic to get a response from others, because when we go to the park or elsewhere just the two of us, he is very well behaved for the most part (he still crys, but normally only when he is scared or injured). I wish I had an easy way to explain to others that being firm is important, he needs boundaries in his world. Both to keep him safe and to shape him in to a productive child.
He is the center of my world and I just want to do everything I can to help him get a great start in this world.