Boy, did I have this coming. Baby Felix plays super-sweet for everyone then screams in my face when no one is around. Still, I don't call him difficult. I learned that lesson with Amos, as I shared in this post originally published on Salt + Nectar a few months after Amos was born. 

At first, you just want sympathy. Your baby is being difficult and you just want to talk about how hard of a time you are having. It starts innocently enough. Then, you realize you're sharing more stories about the stress your baby brings, instead of the joy.

This little guy - who struggled with the second level of the playground - struggled with being "the ONLY first grader" who couldn't do the monkey bars. Again, I stood back and let him learn on his own and I was reminded of this post that is as true now as it was then. 

If someone were to ask me the personality trait I most want to teach Griffin, it would be independence.  My ultimate goal is to raise a confident, capable adult who does not need me to do his laundry or fight his fights.

As an infant, I would sit him down inside a play yard to play on his own. As soon as he could crawl, I baby-proofed his room and would allow him to play by himself in there (much to my mother's chagrin). I never saw it as my job to entertain him or show him how every single toy worked.