My daughter has begun to show a bit of a mean streak. She has started to say things like:

• Go away mom!
• I don’t like you.
• He looks creepy.

And the killer. Just this morning she said, “I don’t love you anymore mommy.”

Now, I realize that she’s probably just testing out some new feelings, vocabulary, or something. I realize she’s picking up some of this from outside our home.

But, still? It hurts.

I don’t want my baby girl to be mean. And much less do I want her to say mean things to me.

So while I fight internally between “letting her express herself” and doing things the old school way to let her know i’s wrong, what will my baby girl turn into? Is she going to be one of those “mean girls”?

How do I ensure that she gets the right message and learns that saying such things hurts people’s feelings?

And why am I dealing with this at the age of 3? Aren’t little girls supposed to be all sweet and sugary and like chocolate marshmallows on a rainbow cloud?

sigh

Maybe I’ll just keep saying “I love you.”

A lot.