If you were to ask Lego today if Duplo is a nice brother, he might tell you no. Duplo just recently started hitting, kicking, and biting when he’s mad, and Lego tends to be the target.
That said, Duplo is generally a sweet, gentle little boy. He talks softly, he plays calmly, he loves giving hugs and kisses. He even hits gently, though Lego might disagree with that. 🙂 He’s even exceptionally good at sharing for his age.
Duplo loves people. He’s not really into being the center of attention the way Lego is, but he loves people who are kind and fun, and he remembers them after they go. This morning, he was looking through pictures and sounded absolutely joyful as he proclaimed the name of each person he recognized and loved: Grandma, Ken, Granny, Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa. And this morning he was in tears because we couldn’t go to his cousin L’s house. He doesn’t take a long time to warm up to people either.
I think the main thing that makes Duplo act out is feeling like we’re mad at him. I’m pretty sure this is where Lego goes wrong—he’ll try to keep Duplo from taking his toy, or doing something he shouldn’t, and when Duplo won’t stop, he yells at him. Then Duplo hits and the fight escalates. I’ve also found that if I scold Duplo, he’ll sometimes hit me. I think he can tell that we’re not happy with him, and he wants us to be happy and to approve of him. This will be good to know as he gets older. It seems like we’ll have to be extra careful not to hurt his feelings.
