Actual Parenting

[heelibrarian]

I'm all ears about things that work, but can you make it a game? Or will she totally see through that? I've started making it a "go find your ____" and then giving her lots of yays! for it.

That's on a good day. Otherwise it's totally hauling her out to the car kicking and screaming.

[musicalsilver]

Story of my mornings. Bribery is what has worked best for us. I had to clip his nails the other morning (which is one of the few times we let him watch TV), and he practically jumped into his pants and socks and shoes.  Mostly I try to convince him to get dressed and then he can help me ... (feed the dogs, turn the alarm on, unlock/lock the door) do something "fun".

Beyond that, I just have been getting up a bit earlier (sucks, I know), and trying to do things at his pace. I'm sure it'll get worse before it gets better (encouraging more independence in dressing is a blessing and curse). I just hope that this too shall pass!

[kames12]

I have troubles with DS leaving daycare. He just doesn't want to go. And when we get to the car, he just wants to stand in his car seat.

I used to be able to play a 1:20 minute YouTube video but that doesn't work anymore. Also have tried bribing. Sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

Bedtime is another battle...

[melohdy]

I'm having trouble with any sort of discipline. We try redirection, we try stern voices, time out, we've tried yelling, we've even swatted her bum in dangerous situations (grabbing my straightener even though she knows it's off limits). Nothing works. She doesn't acknowledge us even when we ask her to stop doing things.

[michelin82]

My bigger troubles are with my older son. I'm lucky that Brady basically sleeps until it's time to leave. With DS1 I make it as much of a game as possible. "There's no way you can put that shirt on all by yourself!" "There's no way you can do xyz before your brother does!" His desire to prove me wrong helps move things along a bit . If that doesn't work I'm not afraid to admit that I use all the snacks necessary. "Boys! I have graham crackers in the car! As soon as you get buckled up you can have one!" And on the absolute worst of days I say fuck it and just put them in the car in their jammies and take clothes to daycare and ask them to change them. This is only on very bad mornings when I have a meeting that I can't be late for. Our daycare is very small and usually encourages us to bring them in jammies to make our mornings easier. Haha.

[huckleberry08]

It's so dependent on his mood at the time. Sometimes he gets so mad that I have to lay him down someplace soft and let him scream it out. As soon as he's ready to calm down, he sits up, says, "Hi!," and walks over. Something that's totally easy in the morning will cause a raging tantrum in the afternoon. Whether or not I force him through it depends on how important it is.

Lately I've been giving him choices ("Do you want your shirt or pants first?") but he'll often just say, "No!" Then I'll say, "Okay, if you don't want to choose, Mommy will choose for you. Pants!" and then sometimes he'll go, "Shirt!" And I'll praise him and put the shirt on.

[callmeKD]

Jan 16, 2015 10:11:02 GMT -5 thelorax said:

I give DD as many jobs as possible. She loves the "help" so I ask her to get my coat and her coat/hat. When picking her up from daycare I have her put her toys away, get her report sheet, and sometimes carry her bag, "open" and close the car door.. There are still days when she freaks out, but this seems to help. When we get home if at all possible we play outside for a few minutes. I think the fresh air helps calm her down. (Hippy mom party of one).

we do the same thing. G picks out her socks. she gets her jacket ("jackie") and shoes. she gets my hat and mittens for me and the same for my H. 

[cl8badb]

J likes to helps us too. He likes to pick out shoes and hats. Another thing that he likes to do is play with the front door. If i open the door he comes running! I grab him and put his jacket in and out the door we go.

[stargazer763]

I'm so happy to hear that the wild diaper changes aren't just over here! G thinks these are hysterical and will kick and laugh and try to roll over. I'm worried I'm going to accidentally hurt him by trying to hold him down.