Friday, March 14, 2008

Let's Talk Turkey!

No, this post will not be a discussion on turkey. Sorry to those who checked in for that reason (hee hee)!


This post is a call to all parents with successful ways of disciplining their children. Let me give you an example (please remember my daughter is almost 21 months).

On Thursday at our library we have what is called "Toddler Time". It's fun and a way for Mattie to meet and play with other kids. Yesterday was... hellacious. From the time we arrived Mattie was grumpy. Not a good sign for what was to come. Starting out they sing a few songs. While all the other kids were singing, Mattie climbed up on the little stage. She thought it was the funnest activity available to her and climbed and jumped and giggled. Then a book was read to all the kids. No, Mattie didn't sit and listen. She continued to climb, jump and giggle. After the book they sang more songs using a CD. The player was on the stage and would skip if anyone else was on the stage. Do you see the dilemma yet?!?!

I had to drag Mattie off the stage, kicking and screaming, LITERALLY! It was all down hill from there. Everything was a tragedy from that point on. Lots of crying, screaming, stomping....you get the point. Finally, I grabbed our books to check-out and left. The way the others moms were looking at me, you would think they had never seen such behavior before! I felt like saying, "Gimme a break ladies! You can't tell me this is new to you!" Because the library was so miserable, I decided to head to the park for some swing time (this seems to be a reward for bad behavior, I know). Swinging fixes everything. Well, it didn't. Mattie was still a grump.

Needless to say, we went home. So much for "fun Thursday"!

Obviously, Mattie's behavior at the library was "unacceptable" (thank you Super Nanny), but... WHAT'S A MOM TO DO?!

So, here it is parents: what works/has worked for you? Both in public and at home. Don't get me wrong. For the most part my daughter is well-behaved but, I can see that we need to start establishing some good rules and age-appropriate consequences.

LET ME HAVE IT!

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