30 Things My Toddler Refuses To Do

It’s a DAILY BATTLE. No, not between good and evil, but between parent and toddler. Our toddler – and I imagine every single toddler who ever toddled – just loves to say “no”.

The things she says no to? They’re not consistent. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to her refusals. It’s just a whim – how she happens to be feeling right in that moment. I’d place money, actually, that nine times out of ten, she is saying no simply because she has been asked to do something – anything.

So in the spirit of Jason Good’s brilliant blog post about things that make his son cry, ladies and gents, I bring you…

 

30 Things My Toddler Won't Do - how many do you recognise?

 

  1. Get dressed
  2. Put on the shoes you’ve picked out (“I wanna wear sandaaaaals”)
  3. Put her jacket on
  4. Take her jacket off
  5. Walk (“I wanna carry you!”)
  6. Sit in her buggy
  7. Be carried
  8. Be put down
  9. Go to nursery
  10. Leave nursery at the end of the day
  11. Eat anything but broccoli (“I love broccoli”)
  12. Eat broccoli (“I don’t like broccoli”)
  13. Get in the bath
  14. Get out of the bath (“Two minutes!”)
  15. Eat rice cakes without a side order of breadsticks
  16. Brush her teeth without sucking the toothpaste off the brush
  17. Get in the car (“I sit in Daddy’s seat. I drive.”)
  18. Get out of the car with any help
  19. Sit in a highchair (“I sit on your lap, Mummy!”)
  20. Put her PJs on after a bath (“I’m coooooold!”)
  21. Switch off the iPad (“Two minutes!”)
  22. Go near a hand dryer
  23. Use crayons (biro is much more fun)
  24. Let anyone near that splinter in her hand
  25. Listen to Radio 2 in the car (“I want Justin!”)
  26. Listen to the particular Justin Fletcher song that happens to be playing (“I don’t want Old MacDonald/Hands Up/Ten Green Bottles”)
  27. Share toys with other kids
  28. Accept when other kids don’t want to share with her
  29. Tidy up (“Two minutes!”)
  30. Go to bed (“Two minutes!”)

What things does your toddler refuse to do?

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9 Comments

  1. Busola Evans
    June 6, 2013 / 8:22 am

    Love this post. I can identify with most of your list. The most recent for us is her refusal to accept that there are indeed rare moments in the day when Peppa Pig is NOT on TV. (We have no box set)

  2. June 6, 2013 / 6:51 pm

    Haha everyone of these sounds familiar to be at the moment! Toddlers are impossible! Mine has this weird obsession with toast in the morning, yesterday she had a tantrum because she didn’t think it had butter on and today she had a tantrum because the pieces weren’t ‘big enough’ – she cried and screamed for half an hour about it. They are hard work! X

  3. HonestMum
    June 7, 2013 / 4:34 pm

    Totally relate to these-3 year old still hates hand dryers too!

  4. June 9, 2013 / 9:23 pm

    Ha – love this! So true. My toddler (although she’s quickly heading out of toddlerhood and into pre-schoolerhood *sob*) refuses many of the above. Impossible to keep up – one day something is her “best” and another it’s her absolute worst. Agh!

  5. Carol
    June 10, 2013 / 9:07 am

    This post is very true. The one that really hits home is number 2 he wants the wear Wellies with everything whatever the weather

  6. June 12, 2013 / 1:45 pm

    Yes. All of the above. And please may I add: Walk past the stair gate/washing machine/cupboard door/neighbour’s front gate etc without making triply sure it’s definitely 100% shut. OCD much?

  7. September 15, 2013 / 1:28 am

    …and there was me thinking it was just my pre-schooler that does pretty much the whole list! Thanks for going some way to restoring my sanity and making me laugh 🙂

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