(Here's Sam and Mojo)
My kid is just downright mean right now.
She pulls the dog's tail. She smacks at him. She yells at him for doing things he's completely allowed to do (although Mojo does plenty of stuff he's not even close to being allowed to do). She yanks toys from other kids' hands and pushes them off play equipment. She tries to ride the cat like a horse. If she gets really, really mad, she'll throw a kick toward you.
It's gotten to the point we've made a don't-ever-touch-the-animals rule. If we're playing toys together, I have to constantly remind her that slapping and kicking aren't funny, even if she's just joking. And just last week, she got bitten on the hand by her almost-2-year-old cousin who was tired of her trying to take the froggie book from him.
I asked my mom about this, and she said it's a phase all kids go through around this age. They've just realized they don't always have to be nice, and they don't quite yet have the empathy to realize that if they hurt someone else, it feels the same to that person as it would feel to them. That being said, don't ignore it, my mom advised. Remind her every time that what she's doing isn't nice and is hurting someone, then move on and distract her.
I've always thought my Sammy did pretty well with empathy. If another kid at day care was crying or got hurt, Sam was usually the first one there, patting him and soothing him and trying to make him feel better. But since she doesn't do anything mean enough to warrant making someone cry, I guess she really can't appreciate that she's hurting him.
What do you think? Is my little girl a budding sadist? Or is this really something she'll outgrow when she's more emotionally mature? And how hard do I discipline her for this?
