Wednesday, March 2, 2011

"That makes me MAD!"

Remember the story about the boy who drove his car off the mountain? I find myself so often reverting on this simple concept. I say "go to bed because I said so." or "don't get in that drawer or it will piss me off" and I know this is not okay, so how do I teach my kids to follow instructions? How do I get them to understand that they can't just do whatever they want? Right now DS2 is supposed to be napping, but he is up in the kitchen and I am pretty sure he is helping himself to whatever he wants in the fridge. At least he isn't in his room waking the baby like he did yesterday. So know I am thinking I should let him think he's gotten away with something, as they say in Love and Logic. Later this evening when we are having a treat- whatever it may be- tell him that he already had his treat when everyone else was sleeping. Oh yes, a treat is definitely in store!

So, here I am supposed to be giving advise, but I am asking for it. How do I teach my kids to STAY OUT of the fridge, my junk drawer, etc. w/o saying " because It's mine," or "that makes me mad"? We have tried the locks and things but DS2 just breaks them off. So it is a matter of teaching him responsibility. Which is what this Love and Logic is all about. Feed back is great, so bring it on, and for now I am going to try several different things. I will report my findings at a later post!

3 comments:

  1. I have a "nosy" kid who wants to know and do everything! It frustrates me too! I try to remember that sometimes they are so nosy because their little brain is running a mile a minute and they have to investigate everything. sometimes with mine it helps to set boundaries rather than saying no. Like saying you can eat anything on shelf 2 or whatever but the rest of the stuff in the fridge is for something I have planned or say the stuff on the table is to eat whenever you get hungry. I am not really good at this kind of thing either but I did notice my child was frustrated because they didn't feel like they got to make any of the decisions. Everything was done for them and they were ready for more responsibility, more consequences and more time to celebrate the responsibilities (we can hang out together because you helped with this and now I have more time to spend with you) but I didn't recognize it. Good luck raising kids is so hard!

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  2. I don't really have any advice because my baby is too small to get into the fridge, but I wanted to let you know that I read your blog and I learn from it, so thanks for the info!

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  3. Wow...that is hard...because I do the exact same things!!! I would 2nd what Becky said...I like to tell Klous that things like my purse...or church bags...or certain spots are MINE...and just like he doesn't like his siblings getting into "his" stuff...I don't like him getting into mine. I am trying to continually get him to ASK for something before he just gets it out...and some days are a lot better then others. But I too have certain spots that have snacks or things that the kids just know they can have or get into...so maybe that's something you want to consider!?!? I don't know...wish I was more help...but Becky said it too...raising kids is HARD...good luck!!!

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