“Do as I say, not as I do!”  Everyone knows that doesn’t work.

Kids learn how to BE by observing what you DO.

Max is currently learning how to play with Pixie and Stella.  He thinks they are hilarious.  The very mention of their names used to throw him into hysterics.  Calling out “Pixie!” and “Stella!” was a great way to entertain and distract him from his NOT SO WANTED diaper changes when he was younger.  (I say “younger”!  How much younger can you get than 17 months?  Well, about 16 months and 29 days I guess.)

Max liked to grab Stella’s long hair and often ends up with a handful of it.  Ouch!!  Stella just sort of winces and stands there or walks away.

And for awhile Max thought throwing books at them was funny.  He liked to watch them scurry away.  We had to repeatedly say “gentle” while he played with or pet them.

We also had to show him what “gentle” meant.  By doing it ourselves AS we said the word.

Pretty simple.  They’ll know what to do if you ‘just do it’ yourself.