Introverted Toddlers

I can't help wondering what syndromes/diseases/learning disabilities my kids have. I blame it on my mom. She would come home from every teacher's conference, and say, "Clark, I know what's wrong with you!" (That's my dad.) She was a special ed teacher, so we learned at various times that my dad a) should have crawled as a child, b) had adult ADD, c) auditory dyslexia, d) OCD (or something, I might have misunderstood when I was little)... you get the picture.

I love you, Mom and Dad!

So Silas occasionally sends me groping for Google to find out what his bizarre behavior MEANS. Well, I finally stumbled on a site about how toddlers display introversion. Oh, DUH! Nathan and I are both totally introverts. I knew Silas was too, but I didn't know how toddlers display it.

I learned that introverted toddlers tend to be very territorial about their body when they're uncomfortable. So, trying to take Silas' jacket off at church is a major violation of his personal space when he's already uneasy. Even pushing his hood off can cause a major battle, because he wants to exert dominance over his space. Plus, the hood is protecting him.

Also, very introverted toddlers are leery of showing too much emotion in scary situations. So at Christmastime when everyone's bustling about and being loud - Silas doesn't oooh and aahh over presents. It's not that he isn't excited or happy to receive things, but he's not going to give wonderful displays of joy if he's also uneasy. (Rosie, on the other hand, will gasp and exclaim and say, "Booootiful!" and generally make you feel like a million bucks for giving her a shiny ribbon.) Rosie is a whole other ball of wax. :-)

If Silas is really overwhelmed, he gets entirely passive. Doesn't move much, speak, or appear to hear anything people say to him. Which is good in a lot of ways - better than throwing a fit, or hitting another kid, etc. Of course, it comes off as stubbornness, which isn't so good. Anyway, I just thought this personality stuff was interesting. If you have a toddler you should go read an article or two about helping your extroverted/introverted child. It's a lot of fun!