Vera, age 2.0: Mummy, you sit here ok, and play with me, ok.

The way it was said, it wasn’t so much a question, but more like a statement.

Vera, age 2.0: Papa, you eat this one ok. Vera cannot eat this one. Papa, you eat ok. [nodding to herself]

Again, the ‘ok’s act like a full-stop rather than a question mark.

So, I’ve concluded we have a little boss in the house. I’m not sure if we played any part in nurturing her bossiness, but I do have a nagging suspicion that she learnt some of it from me, since her manner of speech bears an uncanny resemblance to mine.

That said, she was born with a strong character, will and personality, so that is likely a natural bedrock for bossy behaviour to thrive.

While her bossy acts can be rather enduring and palatable now, I’m starting to wonder how far it’ll develop as time goes by.

I’m starting to worry.

I’m also tempted to re-think the way I instruct and teach her (i.e. Am I too bossy as a mum?)

On a more positive note, we can see her leadership traits quite clearly now.

When she’s playing with other kids her age, she’s the one instructing them to do this and that.

She’s usually also the one initiating to change the mode of play. Funnily enough, some of the kids do follow her lead.

The questions are:
- How can we tame her big-boss attitude without quashing her leadership traits?

- How can we inculcate values such as cooperation, flexibility, and the need to consider others?

We may just have to figure some of those out along the way…