One thing I have noticed as she has gotten older is the meltdowns are less. Not gone entirely, but there's less frustration and more understanding of how her world works.
Today we played X's and O's - or tic toe if you want to call it that. This game was a bit different as this was nesting doll tic-tac-toe which added another layer of difficulty to the game.
Each player gets 9 pieces. 3 large, 3 medium and 3 small.
If I were to play a small then she could place a medium on mine and win the game if was strategically possible.
It took us while, but we figured it out how to play.
Of course, she played her 3 big pieces first because bigger=better, yes?
Not necessarily as once she's 'spent' her big pieces she only has small pieces left and then I can cover her small pieces with my bigger version and win the game.
She would play her 3 big pieces and then you could see that she thought she would win and was getting all excited. She was fixated on the big pieces and not the entire game.
I would place a winning piece down and tell her I won.
You could see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to understand how she could possibly lose. She had played all her big pieces and that was a winning strategy when you're six.
The look on her face went from confusion to realization to acceptance in just a few seconds, and it was great!
No tears or screaming or c0nfusion.
Just a simple question: "Want to play again, Dad?"
Indeed, I do.
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