If you watch The Dog Whisperer, you will recognize that directive. It’s what Cesar, the star of that show recommends when coming in contact with an unstable or misbehaving dog. And though I’ve recently had to utilize these commands in relation to my daughter, she is not a dog.
You see, she is just six months old and has entered a new stage of her development which is causing her to react in a new way to people who approach her. Now mind you, she sees her immediate family on a regular basis. We have a weekly dinner at my parents’ house which is attended by my folks, her five and seven year-old cousins, my sister and her husband. Not to mention that we entertain at least one visitor in our home per week; but still, lately she’s been greeting her friends and family with a protruding bottom lip and eyes welling up with tears. The more her guests try to give her a soothing voice and perhaps even a reassuring touch, the more she retracts into my arms and amps up into an actual cry.
This cool reception from her usually lasts about five or ten minutes, then she’ll settle down and go back to her old self of huge smiles and a willingness to be held and played with by everyone. It’s just, I have to admit, a little embarrassing to me as her parent. If I’m being honest, I feel like people might think we’re raising a clinging monkey that we never socialize. Or that perhaps it’s a sign of something just plain wrong with how we are doing as parents. I don’t personally think these things, but I worry that others might see it that way.
I’ve asked around and the consensus is that she’s just processing recognition on a new level. Her awareness is even more keen and she’s firing on more cylinders, so her reaction to stimulus is going to be more pronounced.
At any rate, that’s why we’ve instructed folks to just ignore her at first. Just literally pretend she’s not there. Let her take you in and after a few minutes she’ll make the first move. So far it’s working like a charm; I just hope that this phase will pass sooner rather than later.
Anyone out there have any experience with this?
