OY!
It's been a day. I feel like I want to run screaming from the house to places unknown for a night, two, maybe more. I want to run away for a while.
My son seems to have been possessed by....what? I don't know. Maybe just possessed. He has been sassy, rude and obnoxious. He has had horrifying and mortifying tantrums in public; both which warranted a swift removal from the public venue. Once with the shopping cart full of things ready to be bought left hastily in a row (I was alone with him at the time). The other time he was removed by one parent while the other finished the sales transaction.
He has been so incredibly difficult today. Sometimes I wonder how I make it through days like this without completely losing my mind. My thoughts now reside in getting through the rest of the night and then wondering how I am going to get through tomorrow, alone, if he is still acting the same.
I'm at the end of my wits today. He is pushing every button I have...and several that I had no clue even existed. How, in the blink of an eye, can such an incredibly amazing, bright, sweet and sensitive child turn into someone I want to leave on someone else's porch?
Please, please, please, please let tomorrow be better.
20 comments:
Yeah, it is a tough age. And they can just turn on a dime. Declan has the same issues...maybe we should lock them in a room together for an hour and see what happens :)
Mist
Wow... I think these kids are channeling each other. I could have written this exact thing.
mel
Oof! I hope he's acting nicer today. Boot is. Yesterday afternoon, he was so cranky and sullen but by the time I was getting ready for the evening service, he was nice & in a great mood & begging me to stay home. Life on the roller coaster, ain't it grand?
I hope today IS going better. What a great Mom you are for just ditching your things and tending to him. I know it is frustrating, but know you WILL get through it.
Is he tired? Has there been any changes in routine lately?
I hope that it goes as fast as it comes!
Well, if you ever need, my front porch is available! Hang in there.
I know you are having a tough time, but I just wanted to say kudos. There have been many times I have been in a public place when a child has gotten unruly, and the parent(s)have either threatened or ignored the behavior. Good for you that you actually removed him from the store, not because it bothers people, but because it does send a strong message you will not tolerate his actions. He is a smart little boy, but you are an even smarter mother; it will not take too many of these incidents before he will remember you are in charge. (I know this because I can't tell you how many times I have had to remove C. from the Mexican restraunt and the casino. LOL Just kidding.)
Mist: That would be interesting though I'm sure there would be yelling, screaming, hiting and crying.
MandM: I's so sorry - I feel your pain. I hope he settles down quickly.
Daria: Yeah - grand. That's what it is. :)
Sonya: Great mom is someone I was *not*. A great mom would have been able to settle him down and return to the business of getting what they needed. A good mom would *not* have spent the car ride home yelling at their child. *sigh* Changes for him - nothing specific besides they both have birthdays coming up and I'm sure that has something to do with it...he is always tired because the kid won't sleep past 5:30 on any given morning. I don't know. Nothing concrete that I can point to. He can just be a *very* challenging child at time.
Tracey: Thanks. So far it's been better overall. We've had our moments but I'm not letting either one of them get away with anything today (which included putting Kaylen on the naughty rug *sigh*) so pretty soon this morning they got that I wasn't going to let them walk all over me. It's been better....definitely better.
Nikki: You better be careful, girl. I just might take you up on that! :) Thanks for the offer.
Laura: thanks for the laugh! I love the visual of you dragging C out by her arm. :) And thanks for your support. Hoenstly, I felt a thousand eyes on me yesterday and it was a completely mortifying experience. Let's hope it doesn't take too many of those times though I did tell him that I will not hesitate to do it whenever I needed.
Oh the joys.
So... what exactly did big K do to push you over the edge? :)
Sonya,
I took him out alone thinking we coul dhave some special time together while I got the needed things for Kaylen's birthday party (a small family affair) which is next Saturday. He was ok, not great but ok, in the party store but then I got the Dollar Tree (next door the the party store) to buy a few things for the goodie bags and he started spiraling out of control....forgot how to listen, was barking orders at me, having mini-tantrum to get me to buy him stuff and then burst into a full fledged tanrum which culminated in him dropping to the floor screaming because I told him we weren't going to get some glitter crayons he had seen. Umm...yeah....now he *really* wasn't going to get them.
I gave him a warning at the start of the tantrum. I toldhim I would remove him from the store if he continued. I removed him from the store hoping he would get control of himself and we could return to finish. When that didn't happen, I walked him to the car, belted him into his seat and drove home.
Oh yeah - it was a pretty sight.
Hi there casey- I got here thru caroline's blog. SAHm's are my hero's. Big props to you!!!
Trust me, Laura has dragged me out stores just like she said. either that or she gives me that "look" and i know i am in trouble. I have tried that once with her and she didn't talk to me for 2 days. Can you guess who wears the pants in this family? :)
Oh, and just so you know I read her this comment and she gave me that "look". it's scary.
Shea: Thanks! Being a SAHM is definiately the hardest thing I've ever done. It's certain not without its rewards but there are many, many challenges as well. I wouldn't trade it though. I really wouldn't. Sometimes I think I would but when it comes right down to it, there is no where on earth I'd rather be than with my kids.
Caroline: You seriously crack me up. Please move to this part of the country. :)
When Connor acts this way in public, and everyone is staring at you as though you are the worst mother in the world, I like to say (loudly enough for everyone around us to hear) "If you don't stop acting this way, I'm going to call your mother and make her come and pick you up early today!" That way it seems like I'm just the poor aunt/babysitter/whomever who got stuck with the little monster for the day, instead of the mother who can't get control of her kid!! :)
Jen: ROFLMAO! I love this!!!! But what do you say when they are screaming "MAMA!! IT'S NOT FAIR! MOM!!! MOM!!! I WANT IT!!!" at the opt of their lungs? Do you smile sweetly and say "I'm not your mother, honey. But we can call her if you'd like."
You're funny! :)
Well, if he's screaming "Mama" then there's no denying that he belongs to you. In that case, I ignore the child and smile sweetly at the people around us, and say, "He's never spending the weekend at Grandma's house again!"
Ok - you are just too much! :)
That's why God invented the Happy Hour. 5 p.m. for those rough days! :)
I hope you don't freak out about anonymous advice, but something that seemed to help when my older son was that age was "1 2 3 Magic". There is both a book and a video. I suggest looking for it at a library, because it's probably out of print. In a sense, you are already employing some of the techniques, but reading or viewing it sort of clarifies things.
My older son has ADHD and the years when he was 4 and 5 were very, very tough and in the latter part of his 5th year, we were expecting his brother. Things got much better as the years passed, although we had some really tense times in grade school. He's now 14 and picking out his classes for high school next year today! He's become a very decent and caring individual in the past ten years, even though we had our doubts at times.
I think sometimes, a difficult child is easier to know and understand as they age, because you want so much to get to the bottom of their behavior that you immerse yourself in trying to figure it out. That can only be an advantage as they progress toward the teenage years, because you know what they're capable of. If he was just going along with everything you said, you'd just think, "Well, he's OK. We must be doing something right." and wouldn't really figure out what HE'S all about.
I'm probably rambling now, but I just want to encourage you and let you know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
DRKellogg
Nope - I do not freak out at anonymous comments..and espcially not when you take the time to sign your name. :) I do actually own a copy of the 1-2-3 Magic book as well as Paretning with Love and Logic. While I'm sure I need to brush up on stuff, I do use a combination of both approaches.
Thank you for your post. I truly appreciate your support.
Mieke: Amen!! :)
Post a Comment