Little Miss Sassy Pants

My sweet little girl just turned two years old!  I can’t believe how fast she has grown and how quickly time flies!  She’s learning so much.  She can sing & count, she knows a couple of colors, and she remembers just about everything.  I wish I had a memory like hers!

Of course with the positive things she learns also comes a few negative.  Over the course of these past two years, she’s learned to back talk.  I’ll be honest.  Sometimes I have to leave the room so she doesn’t see me laugh!  I know, I know!  I shouldn’t laugh when she misbehaves, but sometimes I just can’t help it! 

I always try to leave the room, but I don’t always succeed.  What is cute while she’s two will not be so cute when she’s twelve!  Sure, we have a long ten years ahead of us, but wait!  As quickly as these first two years have flown, ten years will be gone faster than I wish to imagine.  I don’t want to give her the false impression that a sassy mouth is ok!

But we adults give that impression more than we care to admit.  How many times have I laughed at her without making it out of the room or turning my head?  I can tell you I’ve done it too many times!  And look at the clothes in the store.  They are labeled in big bold letters; Princess, Spoiled Brat, Bossy, Glamour Girl, Drama Queen, and, yes, even Sassy.  Are they cute?  Maybe.  But our children often become what we tell them they are.  Tell a child she’s smart, and she’ll often turn out that way.  Tell her she’s lazy, and chances are she’ll perform the part.

We’ve been very blessed with clothes since our Little Sweetie was born.  We have not had to buy many clothes for her because several friends have given us so much!  One item we received was a precious overall dress with cute little patches sewn all over it.  I loved the dress, but one of the patches bothered me.  It said Sassy.  So here I am dealing with a “mouthy” toddler, and I have a dress that labels her exactly as she is!  Sure it’s meant to be harmless and cute, but in the middle of a fit, Momma doesn’t think her sassiness is so cute!  Well…most of the time anyway!

So I followed my convictions and removed the patch.  It was such an easy fix!  I left the other patches, and we wear the dress often.  It looks so adorable on my Little Sweetie!  Did I go to extremes?  Maybe, according to some.  But it was more than just a cute little patch on the dress.  My job is to mold my child into what God wants her to be.  I just didn’t feel right about telling her one thing and showing her something different, and that’s exactly what I felt like I would do if I left the patch.  (For the record, even when she was tiny I tried to be careful which bibs I picked because many of them have the same issues.)

“Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.”

Proverbs 20:11

Now I do agree that it’s not just the clothes they wear, and I’m not here to tell you that if your child wears a shirt that says Spoiled Brat that she really will become one.  It’s also what we teach at home and instill in their hearts.  What I’m saying is that my conviction for my child is to be careful that I don’t set a double standard.  I don’t want to tell her that back talking or sassing Daddy & Momma is wrong and then let her wear a dress that says Sassy across the front.

Am I looking at your children and judging you for letting them wear clothes with those sayings?  Absolutely not.  You are the authority in your home.  Not me.  I’m simply laying out my convictions and giving you food for thought.  Pray about it and let the Lord guide you.  You know He will!

“Behold, God exalteth by His Power:  who teacheth like him?”

Job 36:22