Oh Crap! Realization of the Day ... Sass

When my daughter started sassing me (about 3 years ago when she was 1), I would reprimand her. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I realized she sometimes didn’t realize that what she was doing was wrong—the first time she did it. So, I started asking her each time. Sometimes she knew her expressions or the tone of her voice was sassy and wrong, but sometimes she didn’t. The realization that kids don’t know what they don’t know has made me calmer during these teaching moments. I’m not so quick to punish on a first or second offense and think through it before I open my mouth—instead of my initial reaction, which is to jump across the table. I know I have a lot of sass in my future with this independent little girl, but maybe we can table some of it for 8-10 more years.