Who I Love (by a 4-year-old)

parenting kids

Hooray - it’s mawkish parenting titbits! What more could you want? Our four-year-old is actually being a massive pain at the moment - moving glacially slowly, demanding independence and having the resilience of a…well, an emotionally available toddler.

The thing is, despite all that, she’s in fact incredibly cute and really often a bit of a delight. It’s hard to remember that sometimes, when you’re trying to get her to put her gloves on and her sleeves are rumphfled and the wind is too cold and her seatbelt is too tight and her hair is in her face and her shoes are too tight and…just get in the car please.

A Valentine’s Task

For Valentine’s Day, she had to write a card saying who she loved and why she loved them. When I picked her up from school, the staff informed me that she ran out of space and wanted to keep on writing. The people my four-year-old loves…

  1. Baby brother - for being able to eat real food.
  2. Big brother - for making her happy.
  3. Grandma and Granddad - for helping her do art.
  4. Mummy - for reading her stories.
  5. Daddy - for singing her songs.

At least I got an entry, and my version of “The Grand Old Duke of York” is pretty good, even if I say so myself.

Relationships with Siblings

We knew that having another child meant that we’d be creating sibling relationships. I knew that the eldest child would be getting a sister, and I wondered how he’d feel about her. What I failed to realise was that I’d be giving the newborn girl a big brother, and that she’d have a relationship with him.

That relationship has been one of the biggest joys of having more than one child. She ADORES her big brother. ADORES. In just about every photo we have of the two of them, she’s not looking at the camera but is looking at him to see what poses she should do.

She often doesn’t listen to us but as soon as he says “come over here” she practically sprints, delighted to be included in his games.

They fall out and that can be tough, but most of the time, they love each other deeply and in particular, she idolises him.

So that was my highlight - she loves her big brother for making her happy. Hopefully he keeps on making her happy for many many years.