Just turned 3 toddler has been saying factually untrue things and trying to get me to agree/repeat these things. They won’t let me just ignore their statements and push for an affirmation. Not affirming leads to tears and a tantrum. I’ve been just saying ‘ok’ or ‘I think you’re wrong but ok’ but mostly letting things go if they seem trivial like: ‘Ice cream is not cold!’, ‘It’s not dark yet!’, ‘Snow isn’t white’, etc… I’ve been mostly targetting statements they make about other people and their feelings or desires like ‘You’re not tired!’, ‘She doesn’t want to sing.’, ‘He’s not hungry.’, etc… and letting the meltdowns happen in those situations but my spouse is concerned that I’m making toddler believe they can have their own facts outside of reality and that I should push back every time something factually inaccurate comes up. I feel like this behavior is probably developmentally normal and like everything else, we need to target specific things to work on one at a time. Thoughts?
I’m with your husband. Your cold is trying to figure out where the boundaries here are. Unless you want to create a serial liar, the only reasonable answer is that you don’t tolerate lies. You don’t have to argue, you don’t have to get the kid to agree, but correcting them is reasonable and probably the right move, even if you do it in a sort of casually dismissive way.
The child just turned 3, jfc…
OP - this is perfectly normal, if not actively positive behaviour for their age. Your child is hitting a milestone and I am positive there is significant bulk of already established literature on how best to deal with this phase out there that would give you much better insight and advice than a bunch of randoms on the internet…
No, the child is lost
Might as well throw them out and start with a new one.
OP: I have failed you, Child. I have failed you.
Child: I should have known the ice cream was plotting to be not cold.
OP: Child, ice cream is cold!
Child: From my point of view, the ice cream is not cold!
OP: Well, then you are lost!
Child: This is the end for you, my master.