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Roar of a Four

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Welcome four! When my boy turned four, I would ponder. Will it be fabulous four or furious four? A few months into the year and I can feel a shift in my parental role as a facilitator. Gone are the toddler days. Here is a big boy! A young mind ready to soar.  Something certainly is different about being four.

Being independent, assertive, exploring new activities. Trying is all about being four. Can I put together a puzzle? Can I button up? Can I fetch my own snack? Can I balance my bike? It is next level DIY. Of course, this newfound independence is coupled with random tantrums, screaming, jumping, storytelling and naming.  A parental mind goes at war, constantly walking the tight rope of independence versus defiance. The struggle is real while finding the real balance.  There are no wrongs or rights, surely a few fights.

When you have successfully hurdled three years of parenting journey you can see a tantrum coming. When you have poured too much of milk or not enough in the cereal, or it is not the right spoon, or something is too hot or not hot enough! If food is not a fuss, clothes can be. Anything you touch, say, see can be devastating in that moment. At four it is not about screaming.  Proclaiming the right through form of words. I am four, I can speak. I can hear my child say loud and clear, “I told you so.” “You are mean.” “I want to be a boss too.” Well, in moments like this my home rules are crystal clear. There is no democracy. It is pure dictatorship. Do as directed. 

Then again mind ponders. Will shaping young mind and instilling discipline turn me into a klazomaniac (a person who cannot speak without shouting). Well, I understand it is about finding the right balance. To tell the truth, it is a hard finding.

Medical science says seeds of independence are sown long back while a baby is six months old. This journey is long and arduous. While it has just begun. At four when new words are added to child’s vocabulary, expression takes a new form. Four becomes a roar. 

Have fun dealing with your roars. Enjoy your fabulous four.


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