Why the heck does she do this?

Sarah has a new mealtime habit -- she will say "More" and put her sippy on Amy's tray. Then when Amy (of course) starts drinking from Sarah's sippy, Sarah will say "Wawa! Wawa!" and get distressed. But if I take the sippy away from Amy and give it back to Sarah, Sarah just gives it right back to Amy.

They do also like to pass food back & forth, but this is completely one-sided. And Amy doesn't encourage it as far as I can tell. She's quite willing to give the sippy back when I tell her to.

Anyone have any insight as to why she's doing this? It's minor, but it's sort of driving me nuts.

 

Hi there! I don't know for sure, but I wanted to say that my daughter does this too. I understand it as she is learning about how emotions are triggered. For instance she is demonstrating that she understands how she would feel if her sippy was taken away, but since Amy isn't taking it, she is having to put it there and then show you how she "would" react if it was taken. I think that is about as clear as mud. I don't know if I can even explain it. UGH Silly kids!

 

Hey Alden, seems like a control play. She wants to put it where she wants and wants to still control the "use" of it. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but when did toddlers make sense. Can you pull their chairs further apart?

 

I remember at something like 10 month, not 100% sure, I've been playing with the girls "give" and "take" game. When one of them had something in her hands I would ask to give it to me. When she'd do that I'd hug her, say thank you and give it right back to her. I did it this way, until I read that this wasn't the right thing to do. This way I taught them that everything that they share - they'd get right back, and if it doesn't happen, they would become frustrated. So I started to play two ways with them - sometimes keeping whatever they'd share with me, and sometimes giving it back to them. I just wonder if it has something to do with your daughter's behavior now...

 

is the sippy empty? and what happens if you give her Amy's sippy -- a trade. ?
if the sippy's empty and amy is sitting closer to the source of refill, maybe she is just passing the sippy to get it closer to you so you can refill it?
:umm:

 

All good ideas! I'll try them out next time she does it and see if any one of them seems to fit.

QUOTE(p31heather @ May 28 2007, 06:06 PM) [snapback]270702[/snapback]
is the sippy empty? and what happens if you give her Amy's sippy -- a trade. ?
if the sippy's empty and amy is sitting closer to the source of refill, maybe she is just passing the sippy to get it closer to you so you can refill it?
:umm:


No, the sippy isn't empty. If she really needs a refill, she'll hand it to me (or drop it on the floor). And she isn't happy if I give her Amy's sippy in exchange (even though Amy doesn't mind) -- she wants her own sippy back.

Diane, I tried putting their chairs farther apart, but that just resulted in more food winding up on the floor when they try to pass it back & forth.

 

I only had one of the boys do this and it totally irritated the other. It only happened in the van on long trips (of course LOL) and it was with a stuffed animal and he got totally upset when the brother would throw it or touch it in anyway.

My personaly take on it (my son's at least) is that this is the button pusher of the two, and he's just pushing his brother's button. He has figured out what annoys his brother and uses that knowledge.