Growing Pains
We made the one kilometer walk into Crnuce yesterday and ran our five errands! I made the mistake of not eating any protein before we went. That was was stupid; I know better. The last stop was the grocery store and I picked up a juice and a snicker for Clay and I to eat before the walk back home.
Clay took a good nap after being out in the sunshine. I slept too and didn't hear my alarm go off. I still felt awful, even after having spaghetti for lunch, so I made a quick protein shake and sat down to Pride and Prejudice. That was the perfect remedy. Clay woke up around 4:00 and we played and got dinner on the stove.
He threw a fit at dinner time b/c he wanted to eat oranges instead of spaghetti. The fit was ignored by Mommy and Daddy who carried on their conversation like nothing was going on. We're not exactly sure how to handle that, but ignoring tantrums seems like a good idea.
This morning when I sat down to check email Clay wanted up on my lap. I kept typing and he tried to hit me. It was the cutest, brattiest thing! I looked at him in surprise and he knew he was in trouble. I told him that it's naughty to hit and his bottom lip started to wrinkle up and he looked so pitiful! I wish I had a camera in my brain and could print pictures out my eyes! He tried to hit me again so I slapped his hand. Then he tried to hit me with the other hand so I slapped that hand. I shouldn't say try; he did hit, but obviously it doesn't hurt. I lectured on only Mommy and Daddy doing the discipline. I don't know if he got it or not, but I guess it's time to move to spanking consistantly. After the second slapped hand his heart broke and we had a flood of tears. Then I picked him up and held him for a while. I'd like to have a weapon...tool that we use for spankings. Maybe a wooden spoon that when we mention the word spoon he knows!
posted by Kristy Jo | 11:25 PM
1 Comments:
This could probably be argued, but Kris' dad has been through a lot of child psychology courses and advised us not to ignore tantrums but rather forcefully put a stop to it. Don't beat the snot out of them and I would say this probably would depend on severity of the tantrum and the age of the child. The reasoning he used is that there is a part of the brain that is the center for self-control. This little area of the brain does not develop quickly and it is actually impossible for a young child who has begun a severe tantrum to stop himself until he is completely worn out. The child needs and actually wants you to stop them because they can't stop themselves. I doubt that Clay's tantrums are that severe but I know with Owen...I try to be very careful not to let him get to that point. I just kick him accross the room if he shows the slightest sign of a tantrum and that usually distracts him enough to calm him down. I'm kidding of course. I do think that distracting them can be as effective as physically punishing them in some cases. When Owen fell down the stairs the first time...he could not stop crying. I could tell he was just out of control. I took him outside and put a pacifier in his mouth and the cool air, the dogs barking, the birds, all the change made him stop and change his countenance. I think that would probably work with a tantrum too.
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