Elaborate Stories

At preschool, another child was playing with the toy elephant Lily loves, so Lily asks if she could have it. The girl sweetly declined. In distress, Lily walks away, takes a few deep breaths, and walks back after working up some tears. “My mommy died… My daddy died… I’m so sad…” The other little girl immediately hands over the elephant to try to calm her down. Her teacher didn’t even know how to respond. “How do you teach a 3 year old you can’t make up elaborate stories to get what you want?”