Property rights
People who think the idea of property rights is learned rather than innate haven't seen Margaret. She gets very possessive about things she considers hers.
One of these things is her pink bouncy seat. We got her a toddler armchair of her own, thinking that she wouldn't need the bouncy seat any more, especially since she's now big enough that the bouncy seat almost hits the floor when she gets in. When we started using the bouncy seat for Duncan, though, she got upset. She knows she's not big enough to prevent us from doing it, so her solution has been to try to take control - for example, telling us when Duncan should be put in the seat for a nap, rather than letting us do it without her. And when she actually wants a nap herself, she'll wait for Duncan to wake up or for us to move him so she can lie down in that bouncy seat to sleep.
This isn't just a matter of wanting the only bouncy seat available, either. When we got a new light blue bouncy seat a couple days ago, Margaret was quite excited about it. I'd been afraid that, as the older sibling, she might want the new seat for herself, but I needn't have worried: she walked right over to the box, before the seat was even unpacked, and said "Duncan, Duncan!"
To be fair, the picture on the side of the box does kind of look like Duncan.
One of these things is her pink bouncy seat. We got her a toddler armchair of her own, thinking that she wouldn't need the bouncy seat any more, especially since she's now big enough that the bouncy seat almost hits the floor when she gets in. When we started using the bouncy seat for Duncan, though, she got upset. She knows she's not big enough to prevent us from doing it, so her solution has been to try to take control - for example, telling us when Duncan should be put in the seat for a nap, rather than letting us do it without her. And when she actually wants a nap herself, she'll wait for Duncan to wake up or for us to move him so she can lie down in that bouncy seat to sleep.
This isn't just a matter of wanting the only bouncy seat available, either. When we got a new light blue bouncy seat a couple days ago, Margaret was quite excited about it. I'd been afraid that, as the older sibling, she might want the new seat for herself, but I needn't have worried: she walked right over to the box, before the seat was even unpacked, and said "Duncan, Duncan!"
To be fair, the picture on the side of the box does kind of look like Duncan.