the older 3 could NOT stop arguing, complaining, making bad choices and asking for MORE today.
i talked and reminded.
i punished.
it wasn't changing.
for lunch i made them eat by themselves.
and sawyer and i sat in the porch.
maybe not my best parenting technique.
maybe not even effective.
but, when sawyer and i came in from our nice, quiet lunch (ahhh! :-)), they were standing there...lunches eaten and cleaned up, and each of them apologized for what they had done wrong and asked for my forgiveness.
i forgave them and explained to them how you will spend a LOT of time by yourself...you'll go through life lonely...if all you do is complain and argue.
we moved on.
went outside to play for a bit before naptime.
it was a little bit better...but bailey still ran over sawyer's foot on purpose ("he needs to move out of the way!") and was sent inside for the remainder of the time.
oh. and don't leave a half used tub of icing in your fridge.
just don't.
because you'll eat it and feel sick when you're having a stressful day.
9 comments:
nice.
yeah. we've been having a lot of conversations like those this weekend. lots of, "this is what your life will be like if you..."
ugh. it's so awful, isn't it?
my mind is starting to throw back memories of my mom and me, except this time i am my mom and i am looking at me.
different. wishing it weren't this way.
it's SUCH hard work.
but it IS worth it.
blog reunion in 15 years to prove it was worth it?
off to my front porch to read a new book the author sent me in the mail today. i figure, if she sends me the book, i read it. ASAP :)
...or a 1/2 used bag of chocolate chips in the pantry.
bad...it's very bad.
i hate these days. sounds like the kids didn't like the feeling of being left alone..sounds effective to me. :) hope it gets better.
Good job Momma, you did the right thing and they understood and you moved on. It's only one day for the icing and knowing you, you'll run it off tomorrow.
Oh I loved all the posts of the last few days.....I enjoyed "sitting" with you here for awhile.....remembering....appreciating so much what God has done in your lives. How we change. How He grows us. I love you.
i don't know - it sounded pretty effective to me!! sometimes it's just good to get away from it - for them to learn a lesson and for YOU to keep your head and sanity!!!
and i'm with you on the icing...except i've been eating the gummy bears that are supposed to be callie's reward for going pee-pee in the potty...which she's not doing....
Don't you wonder what their conversations must have been during their lunch? To be a fly on that wall.
Obviously you've taught them to recognize on their own when they need to apologize. That's huge!
sounds like it worked. :) the arguing can REALLY get to me. glad you were able to have a nice quiet lunch on the porch. :)
I think sometimes when the kids are having a bad day - especially if it's a day with lots of bickering - the best thing to do for yourself (well, myself) is just get away from it like you did and have a little "quiet" time. I think it helps revitalize my ability to have patience and be calm! When it's happening a lot in my house and punishments aren't helping to change the behavior I often send the kids for a 20-30 minute reading time-out. They can read books but no talking. It gets them away from each other for a while and gives me some peace and quiet!
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