I recently read this post by Kate from Picklebums, and I really liked her approach. I liked her idea of creating a script. I’ve found that set phrases can work wonders in helping me phrase things in a kind polite way, when I might not be feeling so inclined. When Scotland hollars “I want water!” I automatically say, “Will you try that again.” But there are many other occasions when I find myself lacking, how do I address this issue- what should I say- should I just ignore this behavior? I love it when my husbands around more because I can gather ideas from him. It turns out just saying “Too bad!” Is often the best way to help my child realize that begging and discussing has come to an end.
But what really resonated with me was the idea of prevention. Usually if I sit back and look at the day or week I can quickly diagnose a problem- we weren’t active enough, I didn’t give Scotland enough attention, his schedule was out of wack- more often than not, if I fix this or that I can clear up bad behavior and get my sweet, obedient, happy boy back. The last few days have been a bit trickier with Scotland. It occurred to be this afternoon, after carrying a screaming Scotter to his room for naps, that I’ve gotten too serious. As Kate said, we need more silliness! Hopefully that will be the solution to our problem. Wish me luck- and lots of silliness.