Life With Ty #25 - If I could tell you - Parents' Edition!

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about explaining Down Syndrome to children.  But I got to thinking, and realized that parents are sometimes the ones who need to be educated first!  I promise this realization is not inspired by any of you that I know!  It came up after a recent class that Ty attended, and it occurred to me that sometimes other parents may not know how to act toward a little guy with Down Syndrome, and often "over-compensate" to be extra nice to him.  It got under my skin just a tad! :)  So if Ty could give those parents a piece of his mind, it would sound a little like this...

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If I could tell you something about me, it would be that I am way more like your two year old than you think!  Most of the time I am on a mission, and when I don't get my way, I can get a little loud!  If I see a toy that I want, well, I grab it!  I don't care if it's in someone else's hand...if I want it, it becomes mine!  I also get really tired of listening to my mom tell me to do this and that.  She should know by now that I really prefer to operate on my agenda, not hers.  I have definite likes and dislikes, and I make sure the world knows what they are.  I mean, come on, I'm a two year old, I'm not perfect!

My mom, she's a tough cookie though.  She does not like to let me get away with anything!  If I take a toy from another kid, she actually makes me give it back, and doesn't seem to care one bit about my protest!  On those rare occasions when I'm really naughty, she even has the audacity to put me in time-out!  She also makes me wait my turn when I really want to do something, but it's not time to do it yet.  I get so sick of hearing, "First ______, then __________."  Blah, blah, blah.  I try to tell her, "No thanks, I don't want to change my diaper first, and then use the computer," but apparently she doesn't care.  She sure likes to get her way, a lot!

But you know what?  As much as I hate not getting my way all the time, I'm actually turning into a pretty good kid because of all of my "training".  Sometimes, if I'm in a "giving" mood, I'll willingly give back a toy that I take from a friend, and even do it with a smile (or not take it at all!).  And even though I do get time-outs on occasion, I sure learn my lesson quickly, and usually try not to do it again!  And even that darn "First ____, then ____" sentence I hear all the time...well, Mom must know what she's talking about, because I'm actually starting to like hearing it, since I know I'm going to get to do something really great in a few minutes!  I'm starting to realize that Mom will say a lot of nice things about my behavior and give me lots of hugs, kisses, and high-fives, if I do the right thing in the first place, so I try hard to do that now instead!  (Silly mom, she has no idea that I've figured out her little ploy!)

So my point is, help my mom out a little bit.  If I take something from your kid, please don't insist that I keep it!  Mom is trying to teach me good manners by making me give it back, and you being super nice is making her job quite difficult!  And really, if I want to use the swing that your kid is getting on, it's okay to make me wait my turn, instead of taking your kid off and making him wait instead!  I mean, what kind of world would it be if two year olds were all allowed to get what they wanted every time they made a scene?!  I'm pretty sure earmuffs would make a quick comeback! 

Basically, my mom is working just as hard to make me a responsible, respectful little boy, as you are to accomplish the same thing with your little boy or girl.  The fact that I happen to have Down Syndrome does not give me any sort of "free pass" to be a little wild-child in public!  Please continue to say hi to me, and include me in your games, and cheer me on when I try something new...but it's okay to drop the over-polite routine.  I promise, my Mom will thank you for it!!!