I Think The Shoes Got Tied Made Me Hurt

My daughter and I took a walk this morning. A neighbor needed something we have, and we decided to deliver it on foot.

Part way to our destination, my daughter told me, "My toe hurts."

After some discussion, I decided to have her try to walk in sock feet. The distance was short. We watched where we were stepping very carefully.

We met the neighbor. The neighbor and I chatted for a few minutes. The sidewalk was chilly. My daughter's feet got cold.

I convinced her to try her shoes again. I put her shoes back on her, this time, I loosened the laces and left them untied. Perhaps that would take the pressure off of her toe long enough to get us home.

It worked.

On the walk home, she told me, "I think the shoes got tied made me hurt."

She has to work so hard to express herself in her own words. No wonder she tries out lines from TV shows. We still have to work on context and meaning when she uses those TV lines.

PS: This short anecdote from this morning is an illustration of how far we have come, she and I. She knew the neighbor needed something, understood I needed to take it to the neighbor, understood that she would go with me. She is coordinating her actions with me, turning a corner when I turn, following my lead, looking to me, referencing, for direction. She knew I didn't know that the shoe was hurting her toe. All of those examples involve joint attention, perspective taking, theory of mind. She was able to wait while I chatted briefly with the neighbor. Joint attention and self-regulation. And on the way back, she was flexible enough to let me try her shoes again, untied, this time. And the experience sharing statement that revealed her thinking about the shoes reveals the development of thinking, mindfulness, that we didn't target or get in the behavioral approach we began with. We had a nice walk, this morning, she and I.