A few weeks ago BigZabba and I were going through her toys deciding which toys she wanted to “share” with other children. She was quite generous with the toys that she wanted to give away. I was surprised at some of her choices, but she was willing to part with them, so I let her. Well now she is reconsidering her choices. Tonight, for the second time, she had a complete meltdown at bedtime because she really wanted “the white puppy”. It broke my heart to see her grieve over the loss of her white puppy. Here is my baby crying real tears, sobbing about wanting her white puppy. I was compassionate, sensitive and caring. But, there are only so many times I can try to explain to her that I can’t get the white puppy, another little girl has the white puppy and loves it very much, the little girl is so happy to have the white puppy, look at all the other toys that you have & be thankful that you have those..etc.. After the tenth time of trying to explain this my compassion melts away and I am just plain upset! I don’t know what else to say to her. Is there another way I can say it so that she understands? After about 45 minutes of this little fit, she somehow gains enough composure to tell me that her foot hurts and that she needs a bandaid. I thought maybe this will be enough of a distraction to put an end to the white puppy saga. So, I get the bandaid and she is miraculously over the loss of the white puppy. “I’m all better now Mommy.”

So my question is…is she really a sensitive little soul who is grieving the loss of her beloved white puppy, or is she manipulating me into giving her attention when she should really be sleeping?