Yesterday was actually fine. The kids were in great moods, which definitely helped my mood. I finally gave in and went to bed at about 10:30 last night and slept until 5:30 this morning with just two minor interruptions in the night. Homer had to go and check on a night shift he had going at about 2:30, so I heard him leave and then come home.
This morning was not so good. Lisa gets in these moods where she is just irrational and stubborn. It was time to get ready to catch the bus and she said she couldn’t put her snow pants on herself. She just sat there in a lump while I tried various methods to coax her into submission.
There was the bribe:
If you get dressed quickly, we’ll have time to play foot hockey at the bus stop.
There was the positive encouragement:
You’re usually the best snow pant putter-oner. C’mon, you can do it. Go, Lisa! Go!
There was the shaming:
Look at Bart, he’s ready to go and you’re still sitting there whining about your snow pants. And he’s only 4.
And finally, the threat:
If I have to help you with those snow pants, there will be no skipping tonight (she takes a skipping class).
Well, I did have to help her with her snow pants and every other piece of winter gear (it’s –27 degrees here today with the wind chill), then drag her down the street, barely catching the bus. While boarding the bus, she asked with teary eyes, “Do I get to go to skipping tonight?”
My response? “We’ll see.”
The response should have been NO. I know that should have been the response, but I didn’t want her crying on the bus. “We’ll see” gives her some hope and an opportunity to think about how she might fix it. Whenever she snaps out of the mood, she realizes she was being a brat and, while she never actually apologizes, she makes up for it by being super sweet.
What will happen with the skipping tonight?
I suppose we’ll see.
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13 comments:
What's a skipping class?
Skipping, like with a rope. Jump rope? Is this another Canadian thing, calling jump rope skipping?
Aww. Poor Lisa. It's definitely a difficult line to walk. Maybe you could give her a way of earning back her skipping class? Like doing an extra chore or something? That way she still gets to go but you still stand firm on your earlier consequence?
There are jump rope CLASSES? Like double-dutch-type stuff? Interesting.
-27!!!! Holy crap, I feel like a wimp for sitting in my van in the driveway waiting for my daughter's bus because it was 18 degrees.
Wait, there's a class on how to skip rope? Is it like the fancy stuff where you do tricks while you jump rope? That is a class I want to take!
Wow, you have my utter sympathy. My 4 year old absolutely refuses to do anything but lay on the floor if we are in a hurry to do anything. And when I try to dress him, he flops around and makes it impossible. I have carried him to the van in bare feet with his coat thrown over his head many times.
I agree, that class sounds awesome. We are probably all making you feel bad now. Heh.
Sounds like a day when she just plain didn't feel like being A Big Kid. I can relate.
I can relate to this...big time. I make compromises so my boys don't go to school all upset. I cannot let my children go to school sad....even if it means being inconsistent in my parenting.
Heidi
I am curious to see what this skipping class is too. I've never heard of it. -27 degrees does not sound like any fun. I get in those moods too, and I always feel awful when I snap out of it. It sounds like you did exactly what you needed to to help the situation.
my kids have been ridiculously ill-behaved lately and i've chalked it up to a very long and cold winter. they just really need to get out and run it out of their system. they've been arguing with me about everything and it's driving me nuts. good luck.
Aww Lori let her go skipping, please let her go skipping!
(i'm a sucker)
I want to take that class!
As far as letting Lisa go to class tonight, that's a tough one. On one hand, you probably want to be consistent with your discipline and follow through, but on the other hand, it was -27 degrees out. I wouldn't want to put my snow pants on either.
So did she skip? We are big on idle threats in our house. The kids haven't caught on yet.
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