when having some guy from an agency be complimentary makes you feel *really* good.
No, it didn’t improve. No, she didn’t make it to ballet. Or the library. Or get to do any of the fun things I’d had planned – for my sanity I cleared off with Small to shop on my own.
We seem to be locked into a cycle of bad behaviour and sanctions, and given that from the earliest age (around 18 months) I could always reason with her and she was always thoughtful, I’m a bit stumped by all of this. On top of that, Small has discovered tantrums in a big way – he was very cross with me yesterday in town when I wouldn’t let him run off into the road, and if I tried to hold his hand he screamed, and if I carried him he screamed and kicked…
hohum.
in the morning I’m going to sit down with Big, explain what fun things I’ve got for us to do, and what behaviour I expect from her to be able to do them (which is basically not endangering her brother’s life while I’m trying to do the housework or get dressed!) and see if some very concentrated attention and praise can snap us out of all of this.
If that doesn’t work, well, at least I’m not going to feel so bad about having to get a job 🙁
Comments
6 responses to “You know you are having a bad day”
(((((jax))))))
((((double hugs)))) (one for big and one for small).
(((hugs))) from me too. From a mum whose child has gone from being totally angelic to a little, erm, erm, sh*t, you have my full sympathies. I would like to say we are working on things though and they are rapidly improving, I hope you can be saying the same shortly!
I’m sure your plan will work Jax, that’s the sort of deal we resort to when Pip gets a bit out of hand. With her it’s less endangering Titch’s life and more obnoxious, boisterous, sulky, know-it-all, uncooperative….
Spelling out the nice plans we have and that one by one they will disappear with the emergence of said bad behaviour usually works- just requires a will of steel for a few days and over zealous praise for teh good behaviour!!! Good luck to you, I’m sure parents all over are having to work out the post xmas bad behaviour!
Oh Jax, I can so relate! Repeat after me: ‘its just a phase, its just a phase’…
Hope things improve soon,
D
Yep, I sympathise too. I can reason away all D’s behaviour, explain to him and myself why he does stuff, understand that he is *only* 4 and so on ad infinitum BUT it still seriously hacks me off, even more so because, like Big he *does* know better, he does know how to behave and he can even explain almost straight away afterwards why he shouldn’t behave like that. So no answers but some (((Jax & Co))) for you all.