A carefully controlled well-carpeted fall
From David Dominguez’s blog:
I don’t recall exactly what was going on,
but our then-19-month old son wanted to do or get something that just wasn’t going to work at that moment,
so the answer to his request was “No”, or “Later”, or something to that effect.Unfortunately, little Jonathan wasn’t at all pleased with this response,
and let it show by falling to the floor and wailing to the heavens,
in hopes that someone, somewhere would care enough to intervene on his behalf.This display didn’t work as he hoped it would;
in fact, it only cemented the “No” from his original request.There’s nothing out of the ordinary here.
Every household with children has been blessed with scenes just like this one.But, to the close observer, there was something highly instructive to be found
in one slight detail of Jonathan’s tantrum.At the precise moment Jonathan received the bad news that buckled his knees,
he and I were standing on the hard tile floor of our home’s entryway,
but only a foot or two away from the nice, soft carpet of the living room.Looking at the replay in slow motion:
When Jonathan took the “No” response, and “lost” control,
he bent forward at the waist to begin his “uncontrolled” freefall.Just before crossing the point of no return, he paused,
took a full step to his right to position himself within range of the carpet,
and then resumed his fall, landing safely away from the tile,
where his fit could continue, injury-free.I’m not sure what my familiarity with this maneuver says about me,
but I did recognize it right away:
- *Making a statement, but making sure it won’t hurt.
- *Carefully controlling the “loss” of control.
- *Trying to have it both ways.