How do you level with a 9-month old?

Anyone, anyone?

I’ve always described LLC as a spirited little lady. She’s a good girl with a pizzazz that must be the making of a strong personality. When she wants to dish out smiles she serves them up aplenty. Likewise when she’s unsure about something, she’s deploys a very inquisitive and questioning look, like she’s sizing up the situation. I’ve probably said all this before.

Lately when LLC doesn’t get her way, she shows off her healthy pair of lungs with a hearty bellow, not so much a cry, but a feisty shout. Of course she saves this bellowing mainly for Chris and me, and for my parents who sometimes catch her antics over Skype. (An aside – Skype is a wonderful and free way to connect with family and friends living far away.)

I think she’s now that little bit older, "with it", and is starting to have firm opinions about what she wants. If she’s in her high chair waiting for dinner and it’s not coming fast enough, she lets us know it! If I’m carrying something but she decides she wants to be held, she crawls over to my legs, stands up and squawks (which is pretty cute, minus the squawk). If we take away a “toy” aka the remote control that we foolishly left on her radar away, she is not impressed.

My mom suggested explaining to her why I don’t always give her what she wants, when she wants it. If her food is still too hot to eat, I’ll have her touch the bowl and explain its contents is still too hot. If I’m carrying a computer and she wants to be held, I’ll explain it would be dangerous to carry her and a computer all at once. If I take the remote away from her I’ll explain that it’s something adults use for the television that she too can use when she’s a bit older. 

I see value in this, because even though she’s small, not rational and doesn’t understand, maybe repeating these things to her will help her to do so in time. What have you found? And once she does understand, will she care or will she just continue to make demands with even more conviction?