thefamily

As I sit here, my little baby girl is asleep on my lap.  I look at her beautiful face, her lower lip being sucked on.  Then she smiles, and it makes me smile, too.  It’s been a hard day.  But this moments is making it a little better.  My older kids have been back-talking, disobedient little hooligans today.  They undressed themselves and got in the bathtub after I asked them to wait ten minutes for me.  They woke up their baby sister from a nice and much needed nap.  They have yelled at each other all day.  One of them broke one of my old tapes that I still listen to and then blamed their sibling.  Now they got themselves onto the computer (which my oldest knows she isn’t allowed to get onto herself, she has to ask first).  But here I sit.  Alone with my baby.

It is hard to pick battles and wars.  Where do we draw the line when our children are disobedient?  How do we know what stuff we can ignore and what stuff we can’t?  Obviously there are some things that are a big deal-violence for one I won’t allow at all.  Any hitting, kicking, pushing, or biting receives a quick punishment and lecture.   But what about other deeds, like whining, refusing to listen or obey seemingly simple requests?  Or forgetting to use inside voice?  Getting on the computer when repeatedly reminded to ask first?  Getting in the tub and turning on the water without parental permission or supervision?  This one wouldn’t be such a big deal if I could trust them to sit in the tub instead of stand in it–when I walked in they were both standing and our bathmat creates no friction at all, it’s terrible.  What about tantrums?

Discipline is my biggest weakness as a parent.  I simply don’t know what to do.  I’m tempted to call Super Nanny sometimes.  Really, I am.  I never know what is a big deal and what isn’t, because honestly, everything seems like a big deal to me.  I’m an uptight and anxious person and I have a problem letting some things go.  By the end of the day I’m ready to leave the apartment because I can’t stand being ignored by the kids anymore.  Yesterday I started ignoring them back.  I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to let them know how it feels to be ignored.  Jeremy asked me a question and I didn’t answer.  Jeremy was fine with this.  Megan was not.  She FREAKED OUT.  She proceeded to yell at the top of her lungs, crying and whining, for ten whole minutes.  Ten entire minutes went by before she lowered her voice and used the word please.  After she lowered her voice and said please I decided it was time to acknowledge her suffering and we discussed what happened and why.  I explained to her that I “feel bad inside” (her terminology, not mine) when they ignore my simple requests (such as sit in your seat so I can buckle you).  I asked her how she felt as I ignored them and she said she felt “bad inside,” too.  Hopefully all I’ll have to do now is ask if they want to be ignored and they’ll hop to it.

Was this course of action too much?  Was it mean of me?  Juvenile?  I’m not sure.  I knew that if I opened my mouth before I was ready something more juvenile would come pouring out.

I always compare myself to older mothers.  Those who are so old they have great grand kids or are dead.  Like Marjorie Hinckley .  I am forever comparing myself to this woman.  I know she probably never raised her voice once in her entire lifetime.  Unless it was to warn a child to get out of the street because an eighteen wheeler was charging through.  More than anything I want to be like her, but unfortunately I haven’t gotten anywhere near her goodness yet.  Usually after a day like today I hate myself.  I’ve screamed, yelled, and fought with the kids and even as I’m doing it I see how horrible and ugly it is, but I don’t stop myself.  Today I’m making a goal of making myself stop as soon as I realize what I’m doing.

We used to have a set of Family Rules posted on our front door before we moved across the country.  Maybe it’s time to make a new set.  The Family Rules really helped Megan remember to be obedient and I think Jeremy is old enough now to understand rules and consequences, too.  When we made the first list of Rules we let Megan help come up with the Rules and the Consequences.  And to note, the Consequences were not all negative.  Some were positive reward consequences for good behavior.  I think it’s time to break it out again. . . .  I’ll let you know how it goes.  Maybe it will help me separate the small things from the big things and I’ll more easily be able to let go of the small.

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