With my niblings whom I helped raise now being adults, I can say this: "It's not going to be cute if they're still doing it later" is technically true but mostly unhelpful. Also, literal gateway drugs are a myth and figurative ones probably are either.
I mean, it's not going to be cute if LW's two year old is still pooping in the tub when she's 12 either, but nobody says "So you gotta nip this behavior in the bud now" because we know that's not going to happen.
The kid may not know context yet, but she certainly will by the time she's a fourth-grader. Or, if she doesn't, it won't be LW's fault for doing some back-and-forth, everybody's-laughing teasing when the kid was a toddler.
Of course, it is important to be clear to your kid that teasing is only fun if everybody is having fun and that means that they all have to have the ability to say know and no their no will be accepted - but, really, that's something kids can learn.
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I mean, it's not going to be cute if LW's two year old is still pooping in the tub when she's 12 either, but nobody says "So you gotta nip this behavior in the bud now" because we know that's not going to happen.
The kid may not know context yet, but she certainly will by the time she's a fourth-grader. Or, if she doesn't, it won't be LW's fault for doing some back-and-forth, everybody's-laughing teasing when the kid was a toddler.
Of course, it is important to be clear to your kid that teasing is only fun if everybody is having fun and that means that they all have to have the ability to say know and no their no will be accepted - but, really, that's something kids can learn.