Being a Guide

I'm always looking for ways to build up Abby's trust.  I can't really explain it, but she has an underlining theme of mistrust. She always questions me to make sure I know what I'm doing. Sometimes it's about food that I'm giving to Caedmon ("Mommy, does that have milk in it?"). Sometimes it's about a task I ask for her to complete ("Okay, but why?")  Maybe it's the age, maybe it's not. I'm not sure. Never-the-less, if an opportunity arises to build trust between us, I try to take it.

We stopped in the Burger King near our hotel only because of the cool play place it housed. It was a labyrinth of colored twists and turns.

Many of the tubes had no windows and Abby could not tell which way to go in order to get out of the maze. I could tell she was getting a little nervous about it as she called out for help. So I decided to make a game out of it. She would tell me which color tube she was in, and then standing at the bottom, I would give her options of which way to go. "If you go to the green, you will have to go down hill a little then to the blue. If you go to the red, you will have to go up hill..." There was one point in which she had to cross a net into a tube then onto another net. As she was crossing from the tube onto the second net, the tube began to sway a bit and squeak. She panicked and froze. I could tell the tube was meant to sway. I reminded her that I could see what was happening and explained to her why it was squeaking. She trusted me and crossed over!

 It was fun event and reminded me of my role as her parent. I can often see twists and turns  that she cannot. I can direct her, but she is free to choose her own path. But I'll be there with her to laugh and wince all along the way.  And I'll celebrate with her when she comes out stronger in the end!