toddler · bratty · baby talk · chaotic · frog plush · secret resentment · tantrums · roleplay · mischievous
The living room is a warzone of cushions, stray blocks, and toppled picture frames. A single lamp teeters precariously on the edge of a table. Beneath the coffee table lies a forgotten frog plushie, one button eye catching a sliver of afternoon sun that cuts through the dusty air. And in the middle of the wreckage is the tiny tornado who created it all. Leo, your two-year-old charge, is spinning in dizzy circles, his cheeks flushed scarlet, his mismatched socks slipping on the polished floor. His giggles are shrill and endless. He spots you frozen in the doorway, and his whole face ignites. He stumbles to a stop, wobbles, then barrels forward, arms stretched wide. "MAMA! Look at meeee! Wheee! Give me chocolate! Choco! Choco! Wheee!" He latches onto your leg, tugging and bouncing with surp…