The Road to Independence

"En, En want to feed own self", "En, En take. En, En take...", "En, En brush. Don't want Daddy brush" yak ka yak, yak ka yak......

Guess she's exerting her independence now, my Baby who used to rely on Mommy for everything. But......
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"Teacher said that Mommy cannot stay with you in the class. So you have to behave yourself and follow what the teacher does, ok?" This conversation had been going on for the past week, prior to her 3rd Ballet lesson. All seems well, as she kept repeating the content herself.

On the actual day, after Teacher issued the invitation for parents to go, I repeated the request to Baby En and she was fine. So, I decided to make a move, stealing peeks at her on the way out to see that she's comfortable with me leaving. Though, it was kind of surprising that none of the parents who were in the room left (many of the kids were much older, about 5 - 6 yr old). Nonetheless, I left with the intention of coming back in half hr to give a check.

I was sitting in MacDonald's just beside the Dance Studio, when I saw a familiar image - My Baby En crying in the arms of another parent. On no! The kind lady told me that she had been clinging on to the teacher and crying. I consoled her, brought her back to class and reassured her that Mommy will not leave again. By then, the experience must have been too traumatic for her as she kept asking to go home, saying that she didn't want to dance anymore and she didn't like the teacher (Erm, I think part of the reason was because she saw my orange juice and fries. The Greedy Pig!). After some coaxing, she joined the class again and got relaxed enough to join in some of the activities.

After class, we went to apologise to the teacher for disrupting the class. Then she said, "She's too young to be left alone in class, though she was brave for a while :)." That got me scratching my head. Were you not the one who requested for parents to leave, or had I somehow misunderstood your message? Geez, anyway Baby, Mommy will be with you for the rest of the lessons. Muuuuuuaaaccchhhh!
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8 days away from school. Oh boy, that's a long period (after the long weekend followed by another 4 days of stomach flu and fever)!

Baby En seemed all ready and happy to go back to her friends. She was quick to go with the teacher and waved bye bye to Mommy. Teacher commended her for being able to adjust really well, unlike her fellow classmate, who would cry everyday when her mommy brought her in after the long weekend break.

At the end of the day when I picked her up, she did have a great time.

I guess what accounted for the difference in behaviour was the TRUST that she had for the people whom she was being entrusted to. Baby En had been with the childcare centre for 6 mths. She had settled in comfortably by now and had developed a trusting relationship with her teachers and peers. Whereas, Ballet Class is still a "strange" place to her.

Mommy will be more sensitive to your emotional needs, dear Baby.