Oh my goodness am I nesting or what? All I did today was organize and reorganize things. First I went through all of Gordon's toys and took out all the toys that were too basic for him, ones he didn't play with, or ones that are too advanced for him. I am hoping it will cut down on the mess I have to clean up everyday. Probably not. Then I went to his closet and sorted through all the boxes of clothes. Instead of one box of 6-9 month clothes I now have two boxes: 6-9 month winter clothes and 6-9 month summer clothes and so on. I am just getting a little worried because baby coming will be born in the opposite time of year as Gordon and so all the clothes will be the wrong seasons. We were lucky enough to have a lot of people give us clothes for Gordon but I have a feeling since this will be my second, people won't be as excited and so won't be as generous as before. Okay, I am not trying to drop a hint or anything so I will just move on to my next topic.
I really don't know what to do with Gordon. Overall he is a great kid but he is in that stage where he is testing the limits constantly and it is driving me nuts! So my question is: when do I ignore it and when do I get after him. I hate feeling like I am always telling him no or always disciplining him but I know he is doing things just so I will get after him and I just don't know what to do. Like he throws and hits and even after I have warned him: "If you throw your toy against the wall again I will take it away" and then he looks at me and does it again. Openly defiant. Am I just being too strict? I don't know... I should probably just ignore most of it but then I feel like I've given in and he will learn that if he doesn't listen to me for long enough I will give up. By the end of the day I pretty much let him run around and do anything because I am so tired or he spends a lot of time in time out. Please tell me this stage passes quickly! I liked it better when he was excited to do what I aksed and please me.
3 comments:
Since Spencer is a Holy Terror, I have no advice. Good luck!
Positive Discipline by Jane Ed.D. Nelsen, I know that me not having kids somehow seems to take away all credit to any advice or thoughts I may have, but I do know that my father and sister (both therapists) recommend this book constantly to their clients and I have read it and totally agree with it and have seen it work wonders on my own nieces and nephew and other kids I have watched/nannied. I'm just saying.... : )
p.s. one main point that I really like in the book is giving kids options, there is always a way to put a spin on the situation to give an option. They may not like the options, but just having the chance to "choose" often helps them feel empowered and important.
p.p.s. I hope I'm not giving advice where it's not asked for/wanted, so I apologize if it is.
I don't think you're being too strict. Kids need follow-through---it helps them know that they can trust what their parents say. When my boys were Gordon's age, I put their toys in time out a lot. ("If you guys are going to fight when you play with that truck, I'm going to put it on top of the fridge." or "Since you choose not to listen to me when I ask you not to throw the ball, you will go to time out on the bottom stair and the ball will go to time out on the top of the fridge. You can come out in three minutes, and we can try again with the ball tomorrow.") That seemed to work pretty well.
It is hard being pregnant too. You're so tired! I remember that, and I don't miss it at all! If you can take Gordy outside and wear him out a bit, that might help too. I hope things get better soon!
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