Thursday, February 24, 2011

Temper tantrums and time outs.....

How can something so ugly come out of something so cute? Seriously, look how cute she was painting a few days ago:
It was such a delightful day.

Now its temper tantrums…..oh the temper tantrums! I did a little reading today about appropriate ways to discipline, and one mother described the said behavior as a “necessary expression of emotion.” LOL! I would call it a little bit more than an “expression of emotion” when Mikayla, after I told her she could not climb on my bed, flails herself on the floor, in an exorcism-like manner, throwing anything within reach against the wall. Poor Winnie-the-Pooh, he never knew what hit him.
Last night I was thinking to myself “Where does she learn this?” and I received a very matter-of-fact, clear-as-day answer…… “She learns it from you.” Yep, that’s God for ya, never softens the blow when He has something to say. Ouch.
And it’s so true. Granted, I haven’t thrown Pooh-Bear against the wall in the last few weeks (J), but boy do I freak when I don’t get my way. I say things I never intend to say, I become pouty, and my joy is completely stripped of me. Have you ever caught yourself saying something mean, or spewing a curse word, due to a certain situation, only to wish you could crawl into a cave and hope no one, even your child, heard you say it? I hate those moments, and I have them a lot.
I have felt rather confident in my decisions with correcting Mikayla thus far. She gets a swat to the behind or on the top of her hand when she does something harmful to herself or others. This morning she got a time-out for acting out, and then I told her why she was naughty and showed her what being a “good girl” looks like, so that when I tell her to be a “good girl” she will know how to do it.
I think my “ah-ha” moment that I shared above, was God’s way of swatting me on the behind. Now if only I could get a time-out  J

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