My work as a children’s portrait photographer has provided me with a lot of insight into family life. Through the years of spending time with a ton of families, I have come to recognize a few things I’ve seen occur that I now consider somewhat universal. Anyone who has had professional pictures taken of their kids knows that once the session starts, anything can happen. You think you know your kids, how they might act, what they might say, but in many cases what kids and even babies pull out of their little hats are things that are totally unexpected.   During photo shoots, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard parents comment, “That’s a weird expression. He’s never done that before.” Or, “Gosh, I don’t know why she’s crying, she usually loves the camera.” Like adults, when kids are thrown into unfamiliar situations they feel uneasy. And when our kids are put into those situations, we can feel that way too. That means stress and strain on everyone. And any kind of stress can make kids act really unexpectedly. When you think about it, it really does make sense.   Something similar happened to me this week with my own child, as my youngest is just starting preschool. She is a bright, curious, and gregarious kid with lots to say and has been communicating very articulately from a young age. Imagine my surprise when she started taking up a little bit of baby talk. You know, the “Daa Daa, Gaa Gaa” thing. She threw in a few strange, baby-like sounds and gestures as if language had eluded her. My husband was floored. “What on earth is she doing?” Hmmm. I was shocked at first too and then it all came back to me. Of course she’s acting weird, she’s being put into new unfamiliar scenarios now with school; a new routine, a new set of people, a new “big girl” status…of course she’s not acting normal. Why would she act like she always does when nothing is as it’s always been?   This story may sound familiar to those of you who have gone through transition or stressful events.  It’s hard for adults to process and adapt to new and different things so imagine how hard it is for our kids. The next time you find your child coming up with some unexpected attitude, action or approach, understand that it’s normal to act not normal sometimes and give them some room and a little time to adjust. I’ll bet everything will be back to normal soon enough.