Tenacious Three

The terrible two’s are something that I haven’t experienced in my very few years as an adoptive and foster parent, but I can tell you from what I am going through right now, the tenacious three’s are definitely something to be reckoned with. I have heard many people who have children who are two talks about the problems they have with the behavior with their developing two year old. Well I have news for them; the three year old I have in my house right now is giving me a run for my money.

We received a foster placement of a little boy in the beginning of October and he turned three a few days after joining our family. He was shy and nervous at first which is to be expected. Let me tell you something he has come busting out of that shell and it one of the most outgoing little boys I have ever seen. He is full of questions about absolutely everything. He mainly needs to know why you are doing what you are doing at all times, even if you are simply sitting on the couch trying to get a few minutes of peace and quiet. That little luxury has all but disappeared in our house; with the three year old, his four month old brother, and our five year old there is no silence unless by some act of a higher being they are all sleeping, or I manage to outlast all of them and my husband and stay up into the wee hours of the morning.

I better be prepared because the little man of the house will be up at the crack of dawn and asking for a step-by-step narrative of whatever it is that I am doing. He wants to know the words for everything in the house, and now taking after the five year old he wants to know how to spell everything as well.

Don’t get me wrong he is engaging and funny and everyone that has come into contact with him says how wonderful and polite he is, but that only through repetitive days of reminding him of his manners. He tells jokes and laughs raucously at himself and once he gets laughing you can’t help but join in.

Potty training is another thing all together; he just has no desire to use the potty to “go number two”. It is a foreign training exercise for me and I swear that he doesn’t understand why I want him to do that in the potty. I have tried bribery until there is nothing left to offer, he just doesn’t want to. There has been some headway made though, he will at least tell me know when it is in his diaper, instead of just sitting in it in his room until I realize the problem.

He wants to learn how to do everything. He wants to read and write, cook and do the laundry. He is the best helper in the house. He will help you do anything you ask him to do and is so very proud of himself afterwards, you just can’t help but give him a high-five.

All I can say is that three must be harder than two, but I hope this wonderful little boy is a part of our family for a while. He is keeping me on my toes.