Guest blogger Betsy of Fluffy Windover's Diary writes about toddlers and social graces, or the lack thereof: 

My son, Edwin, recently turned two. He is a full-on toddler. I love that every book on child development uses the same words to describe toddler behavior that one might use to describe a crazy person or a wild animal. (And it's all true: they have no impulse control, no empathy, and are often prone to violence.) I love that Edwin says whatever he is thinking. It's usually hilarious. But sometimes it can be a little awkward. Take last week, for example.

We got to daycare in the morning, and Edwin was just chilling on my lap. He's not really a morning person, and he often needs a couple minutes to warm up once we get there. I guess he's not one to socialize before he's had his coffee. One of the other moms came in and cheerfully said to Edwin, "Eddie, I heard you had a birthday! Are you two?" And Edwin held up his hand in a "back off" gesture, and said, "No. Stop. Talking." It was embarrassing, to say the least. I took him aside and told him that was not a very polite thing to say, etc. etc. So he added, "Please."

It's a funny story, but I'm not really sure how to handle this kind of thing. If your child hits someone, or throws food, or pulls the cat's tail, those are pretty definite no-nos. But how do you explain social graces to a two year-old, that we can't just tell people exactly what we're thinking? For now I guess I'll have to settle for, "Stop talking, please."