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Nothing makes me feel more inadequate than when my children are disobedient and disrespectful consistently for an extended period. And frankly, it hurts my feelings.
Today is another in a long line of bad days regarding my daughter's behavior. I have tried everything I can think of to help her to get back on track, but it has not been working. I don't know if she has been eating artificial food coloring without my knowledge, if her allergies are making her grumpy, or if it's just one of those fun periods all children go through. Bottom line is that as of this morning, I am done. She pushed me too far and I am done.
As I've stated before, I don't like to admit defeat. So here I am uncomfortably admitting defeat.
Thankfully, I am self-aware enough to know my limits. I asked my husband (who is super-busy and doesn't have time for this nonsense either) to watch our daughter while my son and I went to work out. While we were gone, they started cleaning the house. Am I OK now? No. But I'm good enough to get back into the game and be Mom again.
Today, there will be no TV for anyone under 5 feet tall at my house. Everyone will help clean. And failure to comply will result in a stint in timeout. No yelling. No arguing. No discussing. Just working at healing hurt feelings and showing respect.
Parenting is the BEST yet HARDEST job I have ever had. I wouldn't change it for anything. And even on the hardest days, I would pick my kids EVERY time. As a stay-at-home mom who is on duty almost 24/7, I have limits. Learning how to deal with those limits in a healthy way is difficult, but I think we all benefit from the effort.
I am declaring that by the end of today, my kids will be back on track. After all, tomorrow is my husband's and my birthday (yes, we share the same birthday and no, I'm not sure if that was grammatically correct) and we ARE going to have a happy one.
What do you do to cope with life when you've reached your limit?
Bless your heart, Heather. You just hang on and pray! I learned about 30 years and 30 kids (my grandkids and daycare kids) ago that the best reaction to their stubbornness, sassiness, and all is NO reaction. Respond, yes. React, no. Be sure you tell them how much you love them, but make sure they know it's their behavior you are not pleased with. Make them very aware that their actions have consequences. I think that is the most valuable piece of information I could impart to a parent. Also, always present a united front, so they can't pit one parent against the other. They will try, but if you as parents are settled and agree on the stand you take on an issue, you have a better chance of getting thru to them. Just don't give in. Mean what you say, and say what you mean! No idle threats you can't or won't carry thru with. I remember these times only too well. This too shall pass! It won't be long until they're grown and you wonder where the time went.
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