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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Raising Children Thread

btrage said:
Our 6 year old is also obsessed with skirts/dresses, even in Michigan winter weather. The only downside is that she is still learning that when you wear skits/dresses you can't lay on the ground with your legs up in the air. And she also puts holes in her tights/leggings on a regular basis.
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Hahaha! This was last year's experience. Now, our daughter won't wear ANY dresses or skirts. I had to prevent her from going to school a few weeks ago just in a pair of transparent tights (underwear fully visible). I explained that they go under skirts or dresses and you could see the gears turning - should I relent and wear a skirt or dress or just change completely into pants? She chose pants.

She has a very fashionable older friend who has given her tons of clothes we could never afford, but now she won't wear any of them. I'm sure the moment those all become too small she will want to wear them again...
 
I finally scored some points on the "My Mom's not as stupid as I think" scale. The kid was applying for a job at a pawn shop. He finally absorbed my mantra that "you need to walk in there looking like someone who already works there". He wore khakis and a green polo shirt. Surprise! Everyone there was wearing khakis and a green polo shirt. Even if he doesn't get the job, he's learned something.
 
Backstory: My ex lets my daughter (9 years old) get away with pretty much anything she wants and so she can be mouthy and disrespectful to him and his family. He doesn't discipline her, hardly ever. With him, it's always someone else's fault and he is basically teaching her this same attitude. She's a little melodramatic and has temper tantrums on occasion at my house (in my opinion typical girl drama) but hasn't had problems with me or at daycare or school really. The ex and I have joint custody, with me 60% of the time, but I worry so much about how her behavior at his house will affect her in the long run. It borderline consumes me, though I try to not reflect that to her at all.

So then last night she was VERY mouthy to her grandmother (my ex-husbands mom) right before I picked her up from school so I grounded her last night and tonight. A half hour later she says she wants to die. I stay calm and just kind of ignore her because she's still coming off the attitude from her grandmother. Later on before bed I ask her if she meant what she said and she said sometimes. :-c I ask her why she feels that way and she says because she's always in trouble. And I tried to reason with her (as much as you can at 9) that she isn't "always" in trouble, but only when her behavior or attitude warrants it. She says also because her (kind of) step brother called her a brat, and because we won't play games with her sometimes. I kind of feel she was stretching to come up with reasons and being melodramatic, but how do you know?! I don't want to ignore warning signs, but I also don't want to freak out and *make* it a problem if it isn't. How are you supposed to know what's normal hormonal girl crap and what's not, when at almost 40 I have a hard time dealing with it sometimes?

I practically cried myself to sleep last night. I already worry about her attitude and behavior, and now I worry that I should be worried about her mental health. Parenting is seriously the hardest thing out there, so much pressure to not screw everything up.
 
My six year old told me that sometimes voices in her head tell her things. I asked her what kinds of things and she said things like "Go have a snack" or "Get up!" I suppose if that's all they tell her that's OK. Of course, she also thinks that her stuffed animals and Santa are real, so maybe she isn't going to be an axe murderer ("the voices told me to do it.")
 
SW MI Planner said:
Backstory: My ex lets my daughter (9 years old) get away with pretty much anything she wants and so she can be mouthy and disrespectful to him and his family. He doesn't discipline her, hardly ever. With him, it's always someone else's fault and he is basically teaching her this same attitude. She's a little melodramatic and has temper tantrums on occasion at my house (in my opinion typical girl drama) but hasn't had problems with me or at daycare or school really. The ex and I have joint custody, with me 60% of the time, but I worry so much about how her behavior at his house will affect her in the long run. It borderline consumes me, though I try to not reflect that to her at all.

So then last night she was VERY mouthy to her grandmother (my ex-husbands mom) right before I picked her up from school so I grounded her last night and tonight. A half hour later she says she wants to die. I stay calm and just kind of ignore her because she's still coming off the attitude from her grandmother. Later on before bed I ask her if she meant what she said and she said sometimes. :-c I ask her why she feels that way and she says because she's always in trouble. And I tried to reason with her (as much as you can at 9) that she isn't "always" in trouble, but only when her behavior or attitude warrants it. She says also because her (kind of) step brother called her a brat, and because we won't play games with her sometimes. I kind of feel she was stretching to come up with reasons and being melodramatic, but how do you know?! I don't want to ignore warning signs, but I also don't want to freak out and *make* it a problem if it isn't. How are you supposed to know what's normal hormonal girl crap and what's not, when at almost 40 I have a hard time dealing with it sometimes?

I practically cried myself to sleep last night. I already worry about her attitude and behavior, and now I worry that I should be worried about her mental health. Parenting is seriously the hardest thing out there, so much pressure to not screw everything up.
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We're not dealing with ex-spouses, and our 9 year old daughter will occasionally pull the "I hate my life" card on us. She has recently started yelling at us when we are trying to talk to her about how she acted, her behavior, etc. I'm not too worried because I chalk it up to her stubbornness, which she gets directly from my wife and I.

Dealing with divorced parents, your boyfriend and the (kind of) step-brother is the type of situation I never had to deal with, so I can't imagine what it's like for a 9 year old. But knowing how melodramatic my 9 year old is, I wouldn't worry too much.

Just make sure the two of you get some serious alone time and that she knows you're her best friend. And to be honest, if your ex is being this big of a douche, don't be afraid to throw him under the bus a little so that your daughter knows she has you as the responsible parent. And try not to be overly hard on her for things she may do with him. You can't control his behavior, so try to understand why she may be acting that way around him, and give her some leniency.
 
Masswich said:
My six year old told me that sometimes voices in her head tell her things. I asked her what kinds of things and she said things like "Go have a snack" or "Get up!" I suppose if that's all they tell her that's OK. Of course, she also thinks that her stuffed animals and Santa are real, so maybe she isn't going to be an axe murderer ("the voices told me to do it.")
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I always joke about the "voices in my head" and I always have...but in a real way, I hear them as voices. She's probably a little ADD? It comes with the territory. To sort out the myriad of things going on in your head when you're ADD, sometimes you literally do "hear" it all in voices. Not like in the psycho-killer way - I don't think. :)

For truly complicated work that requires my full attention - like math - I have to talk OUT LOUD. Not even in a whisper, but fully talk to myself. Then all the noise between my ears stops and I can focus only on what's audible from my own mouth. Several of my kids have to do this too. Tell your daughter ursus and his kids said " HEY! WELCOME!" :)

....and @ SW : ditto what btrage said. You're right on about 9 year olds. There's a lot of emotions there, and the confusion and situations probably get overwhelming. You're there for her. That's what will matter in the end. Just being there.
 
SWMI - the girl just turned 10 and she has had the little tantrums and I hate my life moments as well. I think its the age when things are a changing. She told her mom a couple nights ago she wanted to hit her in th face and immediatley it was the classic 'oops' moment. Apologies all around.

Our best friend has a girl thats a year and a half older than ours so we sorta have a preview channel. Its all good. Just keep loving her.

Also - Part of me is not looking forward to the next few years of tweens and then teenager.
 
For those who have sent their kids to preschool, how old were they when they started?

Our daughter will be 3 this summer and my wife wants her to start preschool in the fall a couple days a week. That just seems insane to me. I like the idea of her getting some socialization with other kids from the neighborhood, because we don't currently actually know any, but it still seems insane to me.



Masswich said:
My six year old told me that sometimes voices in her head tell her things. I asked her what kinds of things and she said things like "Go have a snack" or "Get up!" I suppose if that's all they tell her that's OK. Of course, she also thinks that her stuffed animals and Santa are real, so maybe she isn't going to be an axe murderer ("the voices told me to do it.")
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Last weekend I was going to the grocery store and I asked my daughter if she wanted to come too. She said no so I asked her if she wanted me to bring her back anything, knowing that she would probably ask for blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries and that I wanted to get some of those anyway. She got an ominous look on her face and replied, "Knives". :-c
 
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Being someone who is severely drama-averse, it sounds like I should be grateful I don't have a daughter.:-|
 
WSU MUP Student said:
For those who have sent their kids to preschool, how old were they when they started?

Our daughter will be 3 this summer and my wife wants her to start preschool in the fall a couple days a week. That just seems insane to me. I like the idea of her getting some socialization with other kids from the neighborhood, because we don't currently actually know any, but it still seems insane to me.

:-c
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Ours started about that time in a CMO program (4 hour program) 2 days a week. It went so well and she learned so much that she went 5 days a week the next term. The solcialization skills are very beneficial, but the brain stimulation is great. Much better adapted when school starts than those who didn't attend pre-school.

Whatever your reservations are, at least try it 2 days a week and then discontinue if you don't think its worthwhile.
 
My wife and I have always both worked full-time, and our daughters started going to day care centers very young. We always chose centers that prepared the kids for kindergarten. My girls loved it, and I credit it for my daughters both being very independent, social and outgoing kids.

The down side; it cost a hell of a lot of money.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
For those who have sent their kids to preschool, how old were they when they started?
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Junior started pre-school when he was 3. Because he enjoys being outdoors so much we signed him up for a somewhat pricey "nature-based" program where the kids learned introductory principles about ecology and the environment (in addition to the usual ABC kinda stuff). It was the smartest decision we as parents ever made and his early enthusiasm about school and learning things is at least in part owing to his positive experiences there. His socialization skills were notably better than many of his peers when he started kindergarden.... not bad considering he's an only child.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
For those who have sent their kids to preschool, how old were they when they started?

Our daughter will be 3 this summer and my wife wants her to start preschool in the fall a couple days a week. That just seems insane to me. I like the idea of her getting some socialization with other kids from the neighborhood, because we don't currently actually know any, but it still seems insane to me.
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RT was 3 when she went to preschool, 3 half days a week. It was a co-op so it was not that expensive. My ex and I worked opposite schedules so she was not in day care and the half day part time preschool was good for our circumstances.
 
SW MI Planner said:
Backstory: My ex lets my daughter (9 years old) get away with pretty much anything she wants and so she can be mouthy and disrespectful to him and his family. He doesn't discipline her, hardly ever. With him, it's always someone else's fault and he is basically teaching her this same attitude. She's a little melodramatic and has temper tantrums on occasion at my house (in my opinion typical girl drama) but hasn't had problems with me or at daycare or school really. The ex and I have joint custody, with me 60% of the time, but I worry so much about how her behavior at his house will affect her in the long run. It borderline consumes me, though I try to not reflect that to her at all.

So then last night she was VERY mouthy to her grandmother (my ex-husbands mom) right before I picked her up from school so I grounded her last night and tonight. A half hour later she says she wants to die. I stay calm and just kind of ignore her because she's still coming off the attitude from her grandmother. Later on before bed I ask her if she meant what she said and she said sometimes. :-c I ask her why she feels that way and she says because she's always in trouble. And I tried to reason with her (as much as you can at 9) that she isn't "always" in trouble, but only when her behavior or attitude warrants it. She says also because her (kind of) step brother called her a brat, and because we won't play games with her sometimes. I kind of feel she was stretching to come up with reasons and being melodramatic, but how do you know?! I don't want to ignore warning signs, but I also don't want to freak out and *make* it a problem if it isn't. How are you supposed to know what's normal hormonal girl crap and what's not, when at almost 40 I have a hard time dealing with it sometimes?

I practically cried myself to sleep last night. I already worry about her attitude and behavior, and now I worry that I should be worried about her mental health. Parenting is seriously the hardest thing out there, so much pressure to not screw everything up.
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Why don't you spend time with just her on a regular basis? Just the two of you. She's sharing you with 2 people who went from friends to family, and she probably misses having you to herself. You're a good mom, and she's a good girl. I'm sorry that she's unhappy.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
For those who have sent their kids to preschool, how old were they when they started?

Our daughter will be 3 this summer and my wife wants her to start preschool in the fall a couple days a week. That just seems insane to me. I like the idea of her getting some socialization with other kids from the neighborhood, because we don't currently actually know any, but it still seems insane to me.
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Lanabear was 2.5 and she started the day-care/pre-school thing and was 3 by the time she went to a full blown pre-school, two days out of the week. My son goes to a small family day care (only 4 other children) run by a former pre-school teacher now stay at home mom. He has learned a lot more than in terms of counting, numbers, colors than my daughter knows at a similar age. 3 is a good age. Teaches social skills and plus how else are you suppose to full a fridge full of art.
 
Thanks everyone for the comments. I think the age and hormones are playing a part but also she is trying to learn what she can get away with (which is made worse by the inconsistencies between households). It's just hard to know what's "normal" and what should be concerning. She's started in a girls lunch program this week where they all get together and have lunch together once a week and starts Girls on the Run next week (both school sponsored) and I think that will be good for her too. I've tried hard to not lose my cool and stay consistent and spend frequent one on one time with her, and will keep doing the same.

WSU MUP Student said:
For those who have sent their kids to preschool, how old were they when they started?
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Our daughter started at three, went for two years until starting kindergarten. It was only 2-3 days a week for three hours I think. She loved it and I think it helped her prepare for school.
 
btrage said:
Just make sure the two of you get some serious alone time and that she knows you're her best friend. And to be honest, if your ex is being this big of a douche, don't be afraid to throw him under the bus a little so that your daughter knows she has you as the responsible parent. And try not to be overly hard on her for things she may do with him. You can't control his behavior, so try to understand why she may be acting that way around him, and give her some leniency.
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I was thinking the same thing, but not being a parent myself I would not be so apt at verbalizing it the way that Btrage did.
 
So last night Junior has himself parked in front of the sink right before bedtime and is guzzling water like a horse. I tell him to stop drinking or else he'll have an accident (he's an extremely heavy sleeper and still has occasional problems IF he drinks right before going to bed). Sure enough the lights go on at 3:30 AM and he announces he's had an accident.:-{ So the other adult in the household proceeds to blame ME because I "planted the suggestion in his mind right before he went to sleep".:r: No, I'm thinking the quart of water he drank probably had something to do with it.
 
Next week is Spring Break for the schools here. We haven't found a good option for the entire week so we've decided to juggle schedules.

It looks like she'll be the GM & GP on Monday, I'll take Tues off and keep her, Wed Mrs. P and another mom are going to take the day off and hang out together with the kids, Thurs & Fri are still up in the air so I need to check the Science Center and those type of options.

We talked about heading to FLA, but that can't happen right now.
 
Maister said:
So last night Junior has himself parked in front of the sink right before bedtime and is guzzling water like a horse. I tell him to stop drinking or else he'll have an accident (he's an extremely heavy sleeper and still has occasional problems IF he drinks right before going to bed). Sure enough the lights go on at 3:30 AM and he announces he's had an accident.:-{ So the other adult in the household proceeds to blame ME because I "planted the suggestion in his mind right before he went to sleep".:r: No, I'm thinking the quart of water he drank probably had something to do with it.
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Likely the quart of water. Nothing worse than the middle of the night changing the sheets and pajamas routine. Look at it this way, at least he didn't pee in your bed :D
 
Maister - had the same issue last night with my 3.5 yr old. Right before bed I specifically asked him "Do you need to pee?". "Nope" he said, but 2 hours later we get to go through the change out routine. Thankfully, it was only about 9:30pm at the time, so not the middle of the night.
 
The Saying In France Is That Every Year There Is A New Problem

My son is six. I had him at 42 and in reality am old enough to be his grandmother. I am very indulgent and adore him. My husband is more strict but they are big buddies. He takes him to school and they play video games before bed. I keep thinking oh, I should be reading to him science books or whispering in his ear that he really wants to be an actuary until he falls asleep but I heard video games are good for your brain which soothes my conscious.

I like tutors a lot. For several reasons. I think it helps a child learn to talk and think things through better. Also, I think the interaction helps with developing learning skills. And my thought is that tutoring kinda prepares him for talk therapy if he ever needs it. if anything comes up that stymies me I would just look in the yellow pages and get an appointment with a sliding scale child therapist. And maybe see them two or three times if something I was confused about. He does see a tutor on Fridays for dictation of all things, long story.

I know all parents stuggle with what to do. Right now Fred doesn't seem to like his first grade teacher very much. I am sad about that. I am not really worried about anything terribly at the moment. I do think next year Fred it is going to be challenging for Fred to go from French school to and English school but I heard that public schools have some help for foreign speaking students. I am excited about his English improving although I have spoken to him in English his entire life since I'm the only influence he understands but his speaking skills are weak.

One thing I will seek out right away is a speech therapist to help Fred if he is having trouble with his English next year. I guess I think tutors, therapists are really useful for parents for extra support. I worked doing insurance at a psychiatrists office for three years during grad school and I developed a good impression of these types of support services. Although "light-action" tutor, yellow pages sliding scale therapist, speech therapist is not the same as a serious doctor, I just got to see how this type of interaction seems to help not hurt.
 
Bring her to work...

Planit said:
Next week is Spring Break for the schools here. We haven't found a good option for the entire week so we've decided to juggle schedules.

It looks like she'll be the GM & GP on Monday, I'll take Tues off and keep her, Wed Mrs. P and another mom are going to take the day off and hang out together with the kids, Thurs & Fri are still up in the air so I need to check the Science Center and those type of options.

We talked about heading to FLA, but that can't happen right now.
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...and let her review your site plans.
 
I just stumbled across this list of 46 reasons why my toddler is having a tantrum. As the parent of a 2 and a half year old, it made me laugh pretty hard:

His sock is on wrong.

His lip tastes salty.

His shirt has a tag on it.

The car seat is weird.

He’s hungry, but can’t remember the word “hungry.”

Someone touched his knee.

He’s not allowed in the oven.

I picked out the wrong pants.

His brother looked at him.

His brother didn’t look at him.

His hair is heavy.

We don’t understand what he said.

He doesn’t want to get out of the car.

He wants to get out of the car by himself.

The iPad has a password.

His sleeve is touching his thumb.

He doesn’t understand how popsicles are made.

The inside of his nose stinks.

Chicken is gross.

A balloon he got six months ago is missing.

A puzzle piece won’t fit in upside down.

I gave him the wrong blue crayon.

The gummi vitamin is too firm.

Netflix is slow.

He jumped off the sofa and we weren’t watching.

He’s not allowed to touch fire.

Everything is wrong with his coat.

There’s a dog within a 70 mile radius.

A shoe should fit either foot.

I asked him a question.

His brother is talking.

He can’t lift a pumpkin.

He can’t have my keys.

The cat is in his way.

The cat won’t let him touch its eyeball.

The inside of his cheek feels rough.

Things take too long to cook.

He has too much food in his mouth.

He sneezed.

He doesn’t know how to type.

The DustBuster is going to eat him.

His mom is taking a shower.

Someone knocked over his tower.

He got powdered sugar on his pants.

The yogurt won’t stay on his spoon.

EVERYTHING IS TOO HOT.
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Source: http://jasongood.net/365/2012/12/46-reasons-why-my-three-year-old-might-be-freaking-out/
 
pre-school

I didn't start school until half day kindergarden at five. I went with my grandmother starting around 3. I remember starting first grade with kids who had never been in kindergarden and cried for a few weeks and didn't read as fast as some of us others. Although I was an early reader inexplicably because nobody really sat down and taught me or anything. I just picked it up by reading the newspaper with my grandfather I think.

My son started full day pre-school at 3 and went for three years. He is now in 1st grade and reads and writes and does math pretty well. He is more advanced than I was at the same age with school and socially. That could be for a variety of reasons. I was the oldest of three girls with young parents he is an only child of older parents etc..

In France official school begins at 3 years old. It is part of the normal public school system. It's free and mandatory. They are served lunch, bake cakes once a month for everyones birthday that month and compost and take fields trips plus all the other regular school stuff for geared toward their age. So, when Fred started first grade, for him it was just another year of school with most of the same kids.

Every year we have had to struggle with something or other this year it's dictation. As children read and write earlier here part of first grade is this dictation that is throughout French school system. And Fred being left handed does this funny brain thing were he writes upside down and backwards. So when he writes the way he should he is slow. So he has a tutor for dicté of all freakin things. Strangely my old landlord in Paris also left handed had the same problem at the same age that is how little the school curriculum has changed.

I know in the USA pre-school is expensive and I don't know if I would have sent Fred to full-time pre-schoolin the usa, who knows. I do think he has benefited a lot from pre-school.
 
Junior started pre-school at 3. We sent him to a somewhat pricey (arent they all?) nature-based school that taught children introductory concepts about nature and the environment. It worked out great for him as he learned to socialize well (important for only children), and we'd always look forward to him coming home happily singing the 'water cycle boogie' or whatever song he learned that day. Happy memories for the parents too.
 
Maister said:
Junior started pre-school at 3. We sent him to a somewhat pricey (arent they all?) nature-based school that taught children introductory concepts about nature and the environment. It worked out great for him as he learned to socialize well (important for only children), and we'd always look forward to him coming home happily singing the 'water cycle boogie' or whatever song he learned that day. Happy memories for the parents too.
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RT went to preschool three half days per week at a co-op. Arabella will be enrolled in my organization's fully bilingual preschool the September after she turns 3. As the city is a low income school district, many preschools are tuition free (funded by the state) to help get children get ready for school. I don't live in the city so I don't technically qualify but they offer a work around for employees. The city I do live in is also a low income-low performing school district and offers free preschool, but they are not as culturally or racially as diverse as the one my org operates.

We're still a few years away from figuring out which school district we will end up in. I am not sure if we can afford to buy into one of the better districts. I got lucky with RT because the university's family housing was in a good district so that carried us through her junior year in high school. Her senior year we were doubled up into a one bedroom apartment to stay there.
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Preschools

I was surprised at the range of prices for the preschools in our neighborhood. When we were looking earlier this month, my wife toured 5 or 6 different ones around us. We live in a rather wealthy neighborhood and are surrounded by even wealthier neighborhoods (we don't earn a lot, my wife won the birth lottery) so I was prepared for the worst in terms of what the costs would be. The local district offers a preschool program at an office right down the street from us and I thought that since it was through the public schools that it would be the most affordable. WRONG! It was far and away the most expensive one! It was very nicely organized and the kids have a tiny little playground that they use everyday for a little bit, and it's close enough to home that we could walk to it, but all that was not worth the nearly $8,000 a year price tag. Yes, $8k for three days of preschool from September through June, at a public school system. 8-! That blew my mind... it's not like this is NYC or something.

We toured the preschool at the same private school that Mitt Romney attended growing up and it was less than half the price of the public school. We actually really liked the one at the private school but were concerned that after a couple of years of preschool our daughter would have to make all new friends in kindergarten since most of those kids will be probably end up going on to the private school that we would never want to pay for.

We ended up choosing a preschool at my church because it had the best price of all the ones that we visited, the smallest class size (and best teacher:child ratio), and seemed to be the most fun/interesting. The only downside is the church is right in downtown and has no green space so they do not get any outdoor time. However, the class is only a few hours long each day (until she is older and ready for the full day version) and there are plenty of parks nearby so we figure that we can always just walk her across the street to the park when we pick her up if we want to.
 
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WSU MUP Student said:
We ended up choosing a preschool at my church because it had the best price of all the ones that we visited, the smallest class size (and best teacher:child ratio), and seemed to be the most fun/interesting.
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We send our 4 y.o. to pre-school at a church. It is "reasonable" at $1,500 a year. I think it is more reasonable after hearing what you would have to pay. But that is for two days a week, I don't know what the cost would be for a full week... not sure I want to know.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
... We ... were concerned that after a couple of years of preschool our daughter would have to make all new friends in kindergarten since most of those kids will be probably end up going on to the private school that we would never want to pay for...
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Pre-schoolers make friends (play mates, actually) in all sorts of different settings. Neighbors, church, pre-school, cousins, avuncular step-kids, siblings of existing friends, and more. Flexibility would be good.
 
The girl was doing cart wheels in her bedroom yesterday evening and suddenly realized her bedroom was too small to do cartwheels when she slammed into the bedpost. She has a shiner on her right eye turning a nice color this morning. Funny thing is she didn't cry. I think there was a combination of shock, surprise, embarrassment, and hurt.

Now I hope the school nurse doesn't call DSS on us.





Hey dandy, see what you have to look forward to - or as Mrs. P likes to say, "Is this what your were thinking when you said you wanted kids?"
 
My boys all started at 3 with half-day preschool, four days a week. In the last year of preschool, we also put our oldest (5) into a half-day, 4 day a week pre-K. So, he gets practically a full day of school 3 days a week. It's been working well and he has really blossomed. He is very ready for kindergarten this Fall and excited too.

Our pre-school is provided by our County and located in one of our school district's elementaries. It's reasonably priced and certainly worth it.
 
Planit said:
The girl was doing cart wheels in her bedroom yesterday evening and suddenly realized her bedroom was too small to do cartwheels when she slammed into the bedpost. She has a shiner on her right eye turning a nice color this morning. Funny thing is she didn't cry. I think there was a combination of shock, surprise, embarrassment, and hurt.

Now I hope the school nurse doesn't call DSS on us.





Hey dandy, see what you have to look forward to - or as Mrs. P likes to say, "Is this what your were thinking when you said you wanted kids?"
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She should wear that shiner like a badge!

Whenever we see a kid throwing a tantrum for some seemingly non-reason, Hubby asks, "are you sure you want a kid??" :p
 
dandy_warhol said:
She should wear that shiner like a badge!

Whenever we see a kid throwing a tantrum for some seemingly non-reason, Hubby asks, "are you sure you want a kid??" :p
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My son is the king of random tantrums. We were in Kroger and my sister-in-law and her kids (my sons cousins) were shopping at the same time so he walked around with them for a while. Once I checked out we went to get him to go home. My wife had to grab him and take him out screaming.

It looked like she was stealing him from my SIL as she was running to the car. A clerk followed her to make sure it wasn't a child abduction. :r: Parents of the year right here... :D
 
After almost 10 years of being parents, my wife and I still occasionally wonder aloud "What the hell were we thinking?".

I'm sure it's a fairly common occurrence during those times when your child(ren) are driving you completely insane.
 
Whenever ours or some other kids are freaking out having a hissy-fit over nothing I always remain calm by putting on my best Whitney Houston voice and singing "I believe the children are our future..."

It really is kinda funny if you think about it. I mean, this three foot tall demon is just going NUTS screaming "I want a RING POP! You get everything you want ALL THE TIME! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU! Get me a RING PAAAWWWPPPPPPP!!!" (true story right there. Oldest kid, Target, like, 13 years ago.) I was so proud. :r:
 
When The Girl gets pissed off on the soccer field after getting pushed around or whatever, you can see her face get all intense and she will really play extra hard. Well at the kiddie soccer tournament this weekend she had one of those moments where we could tell someone had really pissed her off.

After one of the games she came running over to me and said she was upset that an opposing player told her to watch out midget called her a b!+ch during the game. I asked her why she thought they called her that. She said that that girl hated her. So I asked why do you think she hates you when she never met you before. The Girl responded because I took the ball away from her a couple times. I told her that was right and all the other girl was trying to do is scare you or upset you. The other coach for our team and I told her she should take it as a compliment for being a better player than the other girl was. Funny thing was she wasn't upset during the game just mad, but after the game she was upset because someone called her a name. She dwelled on that the whole way home trying to figure out why someone would do such a thing.

She's growing up and learning about the world.
 
*sigh* I think I need to find a new daycare. 2yo's tantrums are about to get him kicked out, and the staff is doing little to handle him well (I feel). I've been on the verge of calling around several times, but this morning was bad enough to actually call. I'm torn between being mama bear and fighting for the best for my child, and being that overcritical helicopter parents who's too busy to keep her kids during the day herself, but blames very behavior problem on the teacher.

[mommyguilt]
 
Midori said:
*sigh* I think I need to find a new daycare. 2yo's tantrums are about to get him kicked out, and the staff is doing little to handle him well (I feel). I've been on the verge of calling around several times, but this morning was bad enough to actually call. I'm torn between being mama bear and fighting for the best for my child, and being that overcritical helicopter parents who's too busy to keep her kids during the day herself, but blames very behavior problem on the teacher.

[mommyguilt]
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The daycare should be trained and qualified to handle 2 year old tantrums.

If they're not handling it to your satisfaction, find a new one. When our daughters were in daycare situations, we always trusted our instincts, and changed daycares on a few occasions because we were uneasy about something.
 
btrage said:
The daycare should be trained and qualified to handle 2 year old tantrums.

If they're not handling it to your satisfaction, find a new one. When our daughters were in daycare situations, we always trusted our instincts, and changed daycares on a few occasions because we were uneasy about something.
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Agreed. The Daycare should be able to handle them. Our proivder tells us when the diablo has a good day verus a not so hot day. She is wonderful with the our son. We wouldn't trade her for the world.
 
Our daughter (who is closing in on 3) used to always sleep until at least 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning. Lately, she's been getting up at about 7:00 though. And when she does get up, she is WIDE AWAKE 8-!. Luckily, she is still in a crib so she cannot really get out (and has no desire to climb) and we can give her a few books or toys to keep her occupied but I know my wife is really hating this new sleep schedule (my wife would sleep until noon if there were no baby and nowhere for her to be). I'm thinking that her bedroom being on the east end of the house with relatively thin curtains is not helping since it's nice and bright in there this time of year in the morning. Maybe when the trees get some more leaves it will not quite be so bad (or maybe I have to find some thicker, darker curtains).

Personally, I've been lobbying to push her bedtime back to 8:30 now that it's sunnier out at night too because that will give me more time to play with her after work and after dinner. Maybe that will make her sleep a bit later too. I guess I'm just hoping that we are not at the point where she becomes the early riser that so many toddlers are! (I recall being up before 7:00 a.m. all the time when I was as young as I can remember)
 
WSU MUP Student said:
Our daughter (who is closing in on 3) used to always sleep until at least 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning. Lately, she's been getting up at about 7:00 though. And when she does get up, she is WIDE AWAKE 8-!. Luckily, she is still in a crib so she cannot really get out (and has no desire to climb) and we can give her a few books or toys to keep her occupied but I know my wife is really hating this new sleep schedule (my wife would sleep until noon if there were no baby and nowhere for her to be). I'm thinking that her bedroom being on the east end of the house with relatively thin curtains is not helping since it's nice and bright in there this time of year in the morning. Maybe when the trees get some more leaves it will not quite be so bad (or maybe I have to find some thicker, darker curtains).

Personally, I've been lobbying to push her bedtime back to 8:30 now that it's sunnier out at night too because that will give me more time to play with her after work and after dinner. Maybe that will make her sleep a bit later too. I guess I'm just hoping that we are not at the point where she becomes the early riser that so many toddlers are! (I recall being up before 7:00 a.m. all the time when I was as young as I can remember)
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We went with the really thick curtains and this seemed to help. I think all kids are different though in how much sleep they need. Our younger daughter stopped taking naps by the time she was 3, and in general, has never needed as much as sleep as her older sister.
 
Planit said:
She's growing up and learning about the world.
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Hard lessons in that post, Planit. Sounds to me like you're doing good with her. As important as knowing all about the world is understanding it for what it is and still being OK with it. She's on her way. :)
 
btrage said:
The daycare should be trained and qualified to handle 2 year old tantrums.

If they're not handling it to your satisfaction, find a new one. When our daughters were in daycare situations, we always trusted our instincts, and changed daycares on a few occasions because we were uneasy about something.
Click to expand...

Hubs and I have an appointment to check out another daycare this afternoon after work. Wish us luck.
 
Midori said:
Hubs and I have an appointment to check out another daycare this afternoon after work. Wish us luck.
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Good luck. Daycares or childcare providers in general are hit and miss. Hopefully you will hit this one.... hmm that came out wrong.
 
In other news, I finally scheduled that 3rd birthday party. Petting farm, evites designed and sent.

*pats self on back* I'll never win mom of the year, but maybe at least my kid won't one day write a memoir about how sucky his childhood was.
 
I was out in the front yard playing with my daughter yesterday evening and pulling weeds in the garden when a woman and another little girl stopped by. They recently moved into the house across the street... I didn't even realize the house had been on the market! Apparently the woman looked at the house once a few years ago when it was on the market but didn't buy it and then earlier this year made the owners an offer out of the blue and then moved in while we were away on vacation so we never saw the trucks. Once the weather started getting nicer I started seeing a little girl there occasionally and just thought they were visitors or something. Anyway, the little girl across the street just turned 4 and our daughter is nearly 3 and they seemed to get along great right from the start. It's nice to see another little child so close in our daughter's age in such close proximity since most of the other kids in the neighborhood are a bit older (or infants) and there aren't many kids in general in the little grouping of houses in our section.

Before she went to bed last night our daughter was already talking about the girl across the street and wanting to play with her again.
 
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