"When children are very difficult at age 2, I've found they are easier at age 3".
Those were the words Colby's preschool teacher used to comfort me after she told me Colby is her most challenging 2 year old this year. And she teaches every day of the week. Basically, he just does not follow directions unless it's something he really wants to do.
At first, she was concerned that he wasn't understanding her words, but I assured her he was, and he was choosing to ignore her. Welcome to my life. Lee and I are so used to this that we weren't sure it was all that abnormal, but apparently Colby is a bit further down the stubborn and strong willed spectrum than the average child. No surprise, as both Lee and I fit that description.
What do you do with a 2 year old who just chooses to ignore you? We've been doing the counting/time outs at home, and that works some of the time, but Colby goes to time out about 3 times a day. Apparently, it's not working at preschool because they can't really put him in time out, and Colby has figured out that there's no real consequence. So, we are working with the teacher to come up with some sort of positive discipline. We've introduced a sticker chart, but Colby isn't all that thrilled with the idea so far because he just doesn't care about stickers. He does care about candy, but the teacher does not want us to use that.
Despite the challenges, Colby is still such a sweet, loving, and happy boy. And active. Very very active. Even though he gives Miller a good whack at least once a day, he is still very sweet and loving to her 90% of the time. He's just exploring his independence right now, and we're reeeeeeally hoping he'll get some of that out of his system as he gets closer to 3!
Mom, is this payback?
2 comments:
LOL!! Know this. You are not alone :) We won't even put Everett in school for fear that he'll be kicked out. I have used candy bribes...er...i mean...positive reinforcement...for all of mine and it has worked to some extent. Sure, they may be diabetics by the time they are 10 but dammit, they'll be well behaved ones! Also, you may want to keep a journal of what works and what doesn't. You will be surprised at how much you don't remember by the time Miller is going through this. We really wish we had done that with our kids.
Stick to your guns (whatever you choose those to be) and just keep your head down and power through. It is hard to see it now, but you really are doing a great job :)
I can second that ... you are not alone (and candy does work)! The only non-candy advice I can give - which is something someone told me - is to pick your battles. It's important (as Emily says) to 'stick to your guns,' so before you start a battle of wills (which is especially hard with stubborn kids and parents!) decide if its worth fighting. Slapping mommy across the face: not negotiable. Wearing mis-matched clothes to school: not worth the effort.
I'm hoping there'll be a hard stop to Camlin's antics when she turns 3 in a few weeks but I doubt we'll be so lucky!
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