Just in case some of you are worried about my kids being too amazing, here is the post to bring them back to reality.
Caleb recently was promoted to a big boy car seat. He is now buckled into a booster with a regular seat belt. It didn't take him long to discover that he has a little bit more freedom in this new arrangement. Which is why we now use the child lock on the car doors. I am quickly learning that it is also important for me to make sure his seat belt is in a locked tight position - you know when you have to pull the belt all the way out and let it release so it is super tight. Well, he hates it when I do that. After I did that today, he got so angry. He chanted "Your a bad mom" over and over again. Then he proceeded to take off his shoes and throw them at me in the car. Lucky for me he has poor aim. In fact, the shoes kept hitting the seat in front of him and bouncing back to him (which was kind of funny, but I didn't laugh).
During his chanting and ranting, I wondered what can I do to keep my cool and teach him a lesson. Isn't that the greatest challenge in parenting? I tried rationalizing with him, which did not work. He was too angry to be rational. What seemed to work the best was to test him on our "House Rules". I asked him which rules he was breaking. Despite his irrational behavior, he was able to tell me some of the rules he was breaking. Sigh of relief, we had a little bit of a break through. I really can't say it was a complete turn around in his behavior, but it was a start.
Maybe Caleb's tendency to express his opinions has inspired the youngest Wolfgramm. My sweet little Natalie is quickly becoming a toddler with her new found independence. She is becoming more opinionated and demanding. One of my favorite demanding traits that she has occurs when she is eating. I hate to focus so much on food with Natalie, but food does seem to be linked to her personality in many ways. When she is hungry and I am not feeding her fast enough, she will pound the table, kind of like she is a judge with a gavel trying to get my attention. "Come on mom! Don't forget about me! I'm hungry!"
Her latest demanding attitude is coming out at nap time. I swear, less than a month ago, she was the easiest baby to lay down for a nap. The babysitting instructions were, "Just lay her down." No special instructions. She was so easy to put to bed. She would hardly make a sound. Now, she is not so easy. Today at nap time, she stood in her crib and cried for a good ten minutes before wearing herself out. Is it her age? Is there something I need to figure out to help her be happy again at nap time?
Sometimes I think my kids behaviors are like little problems that I need to solve. How can I help my son not be angry? How can I help my baby sleep? And probably the biggest problem - How do I keep my composure and not get frustrated in the process? I used to think that the kids were the ones learning the most through this parent-child relationship, but now I realize that I am learning some of the toughest lessons that life has to teach.
Both kids are up from their naps now. Caleb is happy. He hasn't tried to throw one toy at me. Natalie is happy. She gave me a huge grin when I rescued her from her crib. One of the great things about kids is that they quickly forgive you for whatever it was you did to make them angry or sad.
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