I was having a rough day with Emily last Friday. I was just not getting through to this kid - she was climbing on the dining room table, throwing things at the television screen, making messes everywhere. You know, the normal toddler stuff. But for some reason, all the back-to-back correcting and time-outs and sneaky toddler things were just getting under my skin so badly. I was really hoping to relax and that just doesn't happen with this kid very often so I should've know better and managed my frustration better.
She had climbed on the table for the last time and I just had it. I put that girl right in time-out and set the timer. Now, time-out is still a new thing for Emily. I try to establish a "three strikes" rule with going to time-out. The first time she does what she isn't supposed to, I take her away from it and tell her not to do it. The second time, I take her away from it and tell her that if she does it again, she has to sit in time-out. The third time, she goes in time-out and I set the timer between 1-2 minutes. I don't talk to her in time out unless I'm telling her she has a minute to go. After time-out, I take her from her chair, tell her what she did wrong and not to do it anymore and then, she gives me a kiss. If she does it again in the next thirty minutes or so, there's no strikes - just time-out.
When Emily's timer was up, I took her out of the chair and told her she is not supposed to climb on the table. That's when she hit me as hard as she could in the mouth with her head. Her head was fine but my lips were covered in blood pretty quickly. If that happens, she goes immediately back in time-out for 2 minutes. It hurt so bad. That was just the last straw. While she was in time out, I cleaned up my lip, got dinner started, and just was getting madder and madder.
I called my mom to vent and I don't know why I bother. I know I won't listen to her, even if she has good ideas on what to do. She finally joked about a new parenting method called Calm the *** Down. The article is a little ridiculous but it did remind me that sometimes, I need to just chill out. The frustration will pass. I can be strong and committed to the parenting methods we choose. She will learn not to stand on the table and learn not to hit mommy as I discpline. And she will sleep at some point.
Reminds me of one of my favorite sayings:
"There's a lot to think about, but not a lot to worry about."
Giving this one to God because there is no point in trying to fight this battle alone.
She had climbed on the table for the last time and I just had it. I put that girl right in time-out and set the timer. Now, time-out is still a new thing for Emily. I try to establish a "three strikes" rule with going to time-out. The first time she does what she isn't supposed to, I take her away from it and tell her not to do it. The second time, I take her away from it and tell her that if she does it again, she has to sit in time-out. The third time, she goes in time-out and I set the timer between 1-2 minutes. I don't talk to her in time out unless I'm telling her she has a minute to go. After time-out, I take her from her chair, tell her what she did wrong and not to do it anymore and then, she gives me a kiss. If she does it again in the next thirty minutes or so, there's no strikes - just time-out.
When Emily's timer was up, I took her out of the chair and told her she is not supposed to climb on the table. That's when she hit me as hard as she could in the mouth with her head. Her head was fine but my lips were covered in blood pretty quickly. If that happens, she goes immediately back in time-out for 2 minutes. It hurt so bad. That was just the last straw. While she was in time out, I cleaned up my lip, got dinner started, and just was getting madder and madder.
I called my mom to vent and I don't know why I bother. I know I won't listen to her, even if she has good ideas on what to do. She finally joked about a new parenting method called Calm the *** Down. The article is a little ridiculous but it did remind me that sometimes, I need to just chill out. The frustration will pass. I can be strong and committed to the parenting methods we choose. She will learn not to stand on the table and learn not to hit mommy as I discpline. And she will sleep at some point.
Reminds me of one of my favorite sayings:
"There's a lot to think about, but not a lot to worry about."
Giving this one to God because there is no point in trying to fight this battle alone.
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