Myka…I love that girl. She is smart and silly, stubborn and creative. And MAN she can push my buttons. We had a particularly difficult day last week when she spilled iced tea on my new laptop, played with nail polish instead of napping, and cut her own hair. It was a bad day. I’m still annoyed about her super short bangs.
But it’s really the little things that bother me. The sassy way she will answer me sometimes. How she tells me what to do. When she suggests a new option other than the two I just gave her. Or when she yells at or pushes her bother.
I decided my parenting needed some refreshing. Or at least some consistency. Two things that work with Myka are being sent to her room and having toys go in time out. She can come out of her room when she is happy and will listen, and she’s usually in there for about 1.6 seconds. And having a toy that is being destroyed or claimed as ‘mine’ taken away for a time is sure to make her willing to do just about anything to get it back. My problem is the consistency. Moving at the moment of her behavior to correct her.
Which leads me to the pin –
http://www.thekidcounselor.com/articles/10-things-not-to-say-to-your-kids
The one I’ve been using the most is number five. I’ve been saying to Myka, “If you choose to step on the books, you choose to have them put on top of the shelf,” or things like that. Anytime I can make something her choice it helps.
And it’s been working! She is obeying quickly more often and I’m repeating myself less. It’s good to refresh my approach every once in a while. And it amazes me how much my actions and decisiveness affect her and how our day goes.
What do you think? What works for you?
You can see the remorse in her face in the pictures above, but by the time I got her cleaned up and combed her hair she was back to her silly self.
wherever you go 