A Blog for Frances

Frannie has been going through a spitting phase recently. Mostly, she doesn't spit for entertainment, but to express her displeasure at something or someone, or in response to being disciplined or told something is not an option. Since she's a Two-Year-Old, spitting is becoming quite common in our household. With two special-ed teachers in the house, you'd think we'd have a handle on changing undesirable behaviors, but it turns out our daughter is as stubborn as ever. She has also started responding to our frustration with some of her less-awesome behaviors by yelling "I not bad!" which confuses the heck out of me. I figure either she is hearing from somewhere else about her or someone else being bad (could be the "bad dog" we use when Olive scratches at the kitchen wall for treats), or she is confusing "bad" and "mad," since lately I've been trying to teach her to say "I'm MAD!" as a replacement behavior for spitting. No matter which it is, it's heartbreaking to hear her insist that she is not bad, and has both of us responding with love, adoration, and assurances of her self-worth. Come to think of it, we may be strongly reinforcing that particular statement.