Princess

Edith does not prefer to help herself. My understanding is that this is unusual for a kid her age — they generally are trying to do things for themselves wherever possible. But Edith seems very comfortable with being served. She makes no attempt whatsoever at holding her own bottle or cup. She can. She has demonstrated the ability. But she isn’t motivated to. Usually she drinks in a reclining position, arms thrown out listlessly to either side, with me holding the bottle or spout in her mouth. When she wants a break, she swats it impatiently across the room. She knows how to drink from a cup, but she uses this ability to grab our hands, which are on the cup, pull them and the cup to her mouth, and then throw her hands down immediately so that we are forced to hold it up for her. She can feed herself also, but she vastly prefers to have the food placed directly into her mouth by her staff (which is everyone).

Incidentally, Edith and her nanny have finally come to an understanding about naps: Edith now will stay asleep only atop her nanny who now must lie prone on the nursery floor serving as a living mattress for up to two hours each afternoon.

I’m getting a little tired of all this, but I am at a loss for how to get things pointed back in a more appropriate direction. I manage people at work, but none of the tools I have learned there work with Edith. Whenever I try to assert some small bit of dominance, I end up capitulating yet further. If I’m not paying sufficient attention to her, she picks up the largest toy she can find and beans me in the head with it. I’m a little afraid to cross her.