Hellobee Boards

Depends on the situation. A couple weekends ago we were at a bday party and she was so excited to see the pony. Till I picked her up and walked over to the pony. I held her and petted the pony so she would see the pony was ok. She calmed down some but wasn't comfortable. I still put her on the pony and walked around the barn with her but she wasn't having it. But I am glad that she calmed down to at least try it!

I'll do both! I'll try to talk him into it, but respect his wishes. I don't force him to do anything he doesn't want to do though (except, you know, diaper changes, naps, getting inspected by the doctor...).

Like this weekend, we were around dogs and Xander was clearly petrified of them. I tried to calm him down and show him the dogs were nice and not scary by holding him close while I pet them, but if he continued to be uncomfortable, I didn't force the interaction! By the end of the day, he definitely had warmed up to the dogs (at a distance) and would point at them and yell "Da! Da!" (although it sounded more like "Dog" just without the "g"), but he still didn't really want them anywhere near him! And I respected that.

I think in the situation you mentioned, it was completely appropriate to let your LO take the lead. It's a party and should be fun! If she didn't want to swim, then that's okay. Even if it's because she was uneasy with the pool or the bathing suit. Now, going to daycare is a different story! Mondays are especially hard for us because she usually has so much fun on the weekends playing with mommy and daddy that she starts chanting no daycare the minute she wakes up. But she gets no choice in the matter. But I do let her choose what she wants to wear (this pants or that pants), which shoes, etc.