When you have two kids, one aged 5 ½ years and another 5 ½ months old, life is difficult and interesting at the same time. I am going through that phase and couldn’t let it pass without writing about it. Surprisingly, there are quite a few similarities between the two in terms of behavior and attitude. Yes, even a 5 ½ month old infant has an individual personality if you give space for it. She has her own sweet ideas about everything and tries to get it done by crying.

I want this NOW

The keyword here is now. If my elder daughter wants something, say watch TV (which she seems to be wanting every waking hour of the day), she has to have her way. Shout, cry, throw tantrums, do emotional blackmail, she has many ways to make us succumb. The same is the case with junior. If she wants to sit in my lap and not lie on the bed, no one make her do so. She will shout and jump (yes, placing her feet against the bed, she lifts her body as much as possible) till I give in and drop everything to pick her up.

Abhorrence to Medicines

My younger daughter has learnt the art of spitting the liquid medicines I give her. To ensure that the medicines go down the throat, I have to catch her in a somber mood, neither crying nor excitedly playing. A difficult task, any mother would agree. You would say the elder one should not have such problems. Unfortunately for me, this is not so. She keeps the pill on her tongue, drinks a glass of water but the pill doesn’t go down. It’s just a bit thinner due to contact with water, if it is not a capsule. And believe me, I have tried positioning the pill on every part of the tongue. I have a nephew who is 23 years old but can’t swallow the pills yet. I hope my daughter doesn’t go the same way!

Talk Them to Wakefulness

Infants are notorious for sleeping whenever they feel like, irrespective of their situation. Not so with my little one. However sleepy she might be, you talk to her and she will stay awake. I must confess this is a boon to me at times. My elder daughter is a chatterbox. If you keep talking to her (preferably a monologue with she speaking and you nodding your head!), she won’t go to bed till 4 in the morning. This happened when she was just 3 years old.

I thought of writing this post when one day I found myself repeatedly telling my elder daughter to stop behaving like her sister. It was fun writing this post and I intend to add to this further. If you have any interesting anecdote about your kids, do share with us.