A few months back, Bubsi came up with a new habit. Whenever she was sad, upset, or needy of attention, she would seek out her new best friend. And no, it wasn’t a puppet, stuffed animal, or other toy. It was the floor.

There are floors everywhere

I would like to say that there is nothing better than a floor for a dummy. No matter where you are, chances are there will be a floor around. You cannot forget the floor, and there will be no whining because the favorite soothing object has been forgotten. Still, it felt a bit odd to start with, seeing her lying there. Until we realized what it meant.

Bubsi goes to lie down on the floor quietly. It is easy to miss if she has been playing quietly before, but one really should pay attention. Cause, if one ignores her on the floor for too long, a tantrum is in order. Basically, she uses the floor as a primary coping mechanism. She cuddles up and waits patiently for several minutes for you to notice something is amiss. Then you had better act on the signal she sends and come ask what is wrong. Bubsi will cuddle up with you and tell you everything and wait for you to explain why the world sucks ass sometimes. Afterwards, it is back to happy play.

Much better than tantrums

I admit I was weary of the terrible twos and all the tantrum stories I had heard about. And it is not like we do not experience them. Bubsi is certainly fighting for her independence and can throw quite a fit. More than once have we both cried together, her at the world and me at how I could not appropriately deal with her tantrum. (Low energy levels due to my new pregnancy definitely contribute to the development of these situations.) Figuring out what her floor cuddling means, however, has prevented many a tantrum these past months. So much so I am grateful to my floor (did I just say that?!?) for being Bubsi’s friend. And for giving me the opportunity to help her cope with the autonomy phase before the fit occurs. Does your toddler give you opportunities to help before they blow up, too?