by myself!/自分で！

Pineapple has been saying "by myself!!" a lot since last month. She wants to comb her hair, brush her teeth, flush the toilet, and so on... by herself. This can be troublesome, but sometimes it can be useful too.

When she doesn't want to do certain things--for example, washing her hands--I ask her if she wants me to help her or if she wants to do it all by herself. She usually says she wants to do it all by herself. It works especially well for tasks where she doesn't get a choice, in this case washing her hands. I used this technique when I was working at a daycare center a few years ago. This works most of the time, at least for this age group!

パイナップルは先月から「自分で！」とよく言うようになりました。自分で髪をとかしたり、歯を磨いたり、トイレを流したり・・・これは面倒なことにもなりますが、便利な時もあります。

娘があることをやりたくない時、例えば手を洗いたくない時など、私に手伝って欲しいか自分でやりたいか聞きます。たいていの場合娘は自分でやりたがりますが、これは特に選択肢がない時、この場合は手を洗う時に結構使えます。このやり方は私が数年前まで保育所で働いた時に使っていたのですが、この年齢の子供にはたいていの場合うまくいきます！