Parenting Through the Blank Stare

One of the most frustrating parts of parenting Noah is trying to figure out if he truly does not understand or if he is simply choosing not to respond. He has perfected the blank stare. You know the one. The look that says I have no idea what you are talking about and also please stop talking.

A perfect example happened on Christmas Day. We were at my parents’ house surrounded by family. Noah was flipping through a magazine when someone asked him what a specific page said. Without hesitation, clear as day, he responded, twenty five thousand dollars.

Meanwhile, I ask him to read a card he received and I am met with the stare. The one that says woman you are speaking a foreign language and also I do not know how to read.

Why does the twenty five thousand dollars stand out to me. Because on some days I ask him to count to twenty and you would think I asked him to part the Red Sea.

Clearly he can do it. As Shane and I often say, his stubbornness just gets in the way. He does not want to do it. It takes too much energy. Or he simply does not feel like it.

Reading is the same way. He refuses to read with us. But turn it into a family game and suddenly it is his turn to read a card and he reads it just fine.

Unbelievable. And yet completely on brand for Noah.