Wornoutwoman

It starts early... the pressure to be popular.  Lately, that's been the theme around my house. I cut my hair off shorter than my son would like and the response is: "Mom, you know I love you the most - but you've lost some popularity points with me until you grow that back." And today when I had to discipline him - I heard it again. Here's what I keep telling myself. I'm not trying to be his friend, like some of the parents in today's world.  You see I care about how my son turns out and if that means being the bad guy - then so be it. Today we worked on respect for his parents.  Lately, he's had a smart mouth on him which needs to be handled before he turns into one of those Disney teen characters on TV (which is why we don't watch those shows). After he'd been banned in his room for a short period and we'd had our talk about why he was punished, he crawled onto my back and hugged neck from behind.  He cuddled ever so sweetly an...

My sent went through a really rough patch for about six weeks, where everything made him angry. Everything became an argument. He got very physical by hitting or nudging me with his head when he didn't get his way. It was becoming very overwhelming and exhausting. I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong or what to do about it, because nothing was working. Thankfully I had some mommy friends, who had kids at the same age, who said that their little 'used to be angels' were also displaying the same type of behavior. Then my sister's boyfriend reassured me that his son, at four, had all the same issues. This gave me a huge sense of relief. I exhaled and felt normal. Okay...maybe it wasn't my doing something wrong that was causing the behavior?! In the last six weeks, I've just stuck to my guns without giving in. I let my yes mean yes, and my no mean NO. Either the phase has played itself out or he finally got the idea that his testing his boundaries...

Most days are so easy with my little boy. He's an absolute joy to be around, and I understand how blessed I am. Today though was a rough morning! He was being a pill .... part because he was under the weather ... part because he wasn't allowed a donut. He threw a fit for an hour, which only made his congestion and cough worse. Basically, I was the bad guy for not giving him his way. I know all moms have these moments, so I'm not complaining. I think the major issue I'm dealing with him right now is...he doesn't listen. He's not respecting me when I tell him to do or not to do something. Is this normal behavior for a four-year-old??? If any of you have Veggie Tale movies at home for your kids, you may remember the SUV song. They sing about 'cruising to 7-11 for Dunkin donuts and a cup of joe'. My son just laughs at that and thinks it's hilarious. So today we were supposed to cruise by 7-11 to get a donut before going to his caregiver...