A Toddler's Message
I live in a sea of giants,
Who oft times view me as one of willful defiance.
How would you feel living in a forest of knees?
It's like living among towering trees.
Everything is so high up.
I can't even reach my own cup.
I have such little control over my day.
I'm told when to nap and when to play.
So I tantrum over what seems the littlest stuff.
Sending you into quite a huff.
Please be lovingly consistent.
For to you my behavior may seem defiantly resistant.
I need you to be consistently persistent.
Make the environment safe and simple for me.
So you won't always have to say no,
And you can let me be.
Give me options when I play with others,
For fighting over the same toy is my druthers.
You see I still don't have a food concept of how to share.
At age three is when I start to master that affair.
Be patient with me,
I understand more than I can say,
Though I may respond in an indecisive way.
Shaking my head no then yes,
To a question the answer seems so simple to guess.
Take time to listen to me.
Simple acknowledgement may just be the key.
Get down on my level when talking to me.
And learn what it's like living at the level of the knee.
Lester J. Hartman, MD