Naughty Kate

She screams.
A bad habit developed recently, she yells “aah!”; a short shrill scream. She does this when she sees people, and she may do it a few times. It’s so rude and unacceptable. We tell her “No screaming” immediately, each time she does it. She still does it.

She throws.
This started even more recently, where she’d throw things on the ground. Phones, toys, pens… it’s not as if she’s pissed off. I’m not sure what it is, but she does it simply because.

She vandalises.
Two nights ago, I spotted some pen marks on our bedsheet. No prizes for guessing who did it. I told Kate that she’s not allowed to draw anywhere except on paper and I left it at that. Last night, I saw her with a pen in her hand and I also saw her masterpiece on the bro-in-law’s bed. She had drawn large long marks all over his bed! Terrible! I was very mad and I smacked her hand and told her “NO”; and I also gave her paper and told her to draw on the paper. I’m not sure how much she (wants to) understands, as she still went ahead to touch the tip of the pen on every piece of furniture she walked by. This morning, I overheard her saying “no no” and pointing to the pen marks on my bed. The true test is whether she’ll do more damage.

Oh, the woes of us parents with a growing child. I know she wants to test boundaries and I know she’s curious and I know it’s important that we discipline her but oh boy, it’s quite a test to our patience!