Chapter 4 - WHAT MARGARET THOUGHT SHE WAS HIRED TO DO
Margaret did not think she was a babysitter.
That distinction became obvious quickly.
She reorganized the twins’ schedule.
Breakfast at seven.
Lunch at eleven-thirty.
Nap at twelve-thirty.
No snacks between meals.
No screens.
No climbing onto Claire’s bed.
No being carried when crying.
At first Claire objected mildly.
“They usually have fruit around three.”
“They don’t need it.”
“They get hungry.”
“They eat dinner at five.”
Claire looked at Daniel.
He said:
“Routine might be good.”
Margaret started using another phrase.
“While I’m responsible.”
Claire noticed it.
While I’m responsible, they eat at the table.
While I’m responsible, they sleep in their room.
While I’m responsible, they don’t get picked up for tantrums.
The arrangement had changed.
Margaret was no longer helping Claire recover.
She was operating the household according to her own rules.
Margaret’s rules were not random.
She had worked for years as an elementary-school office aide.
She loved schedules.
She believed predictable routines prevented chaos.
Often they do.
But toddlers are not schedules with legs.
They wake badly.
Teeth hurt.
Naps fail.
One child gets hungry while the other refuses food.
Margaret treated deviations as defiance because she believed a good system should eliminate them.
When reality did not obey the system, she blamed the children.
Claire tried to explain the twins differently.
“Emma gets louder when she’s tired.”
“Then she needs to sleep when I put her down.”
“She’s two.”
“And Ethan throws things when he’s frustrated.”
“Then he needs consequences.”
“Yes. Age-appropriate ones.”
Margaret smiled tightly.
“That phrase means nothing anymore.”
To Margaret, modern parenting language sounded like adults creating technical vocabulary to avoid saying:
No.
Claire saw the opposite.
May you like
A two-year-old could hear no.
That did not mean fear had to enforce it.
