Faced with this situation, Jacob does the only thing a toddler can do: throw a temper tantrum. Fueled by infantile instincts, he scrunches up his face, clenches his hands into fists, and begins to scream. He punches and kicks, some of the blows landing on the daycare worker, who is startled by Jacob’s sudden mood change.
“Wow, someone’s being a real grumpy Gus,” the daycare worker says, still keeping a cheerful voice.
“No!” Jacob screams at the top of his lungs. “Not me!”
“What’s going on?” asks another daycare worker. The one holding Jacob sighs.
“I think he might have been surprised by his own reflection. You know how babies can get with mirrors.” The suggestion that Jacob is confused by how mirrors work sets him off further.
“Not baby!” he wails. He squirms desperately, trying to get out of the daycare worker’s grip, but is unsuccessful. One of his fists clocks the daycare worker under the chin.
“All right, that’s it. Naughty boys like you get timeout,” the daycare worker scolds. Jacob is carried to a playpen set in the corner of the larger play area reserved for toddlers. He continues to yell, punch, and kick. “No disturbing the other little ones. Have a paci.” The daycare worker pops a pacifier into Jacob’s mouth. Jacob suckles on it instinctively. Almost immediately, it begins to calm him down. “There.” The daycare worker places Jacob in the playpen. “I’ll get you when timeout is over.”
The daycare worker walks away, leaving Jacob trapped in the playpen sucking on a pacifier. To make matters worse, as Jacob sits, he realizes something.