Don't Ask, Do Tell

Parenting Tip of the Day: A Reminder for Myself

When dealing with a headstrong toddler such as my son, Don't ask, Do tell...

Example #1- We are currently pottytraining and saying "Evan, do you want to go potty?" is nowhere near as effective as saying, gently but firmly, "Evan, let's go sit on the potty. We can pick out a book to read while we're there." As far as pottytraining goes, he is only 21 months and we have been at it for a little less than two months. He has been doing a terrific job until we started underwear at home. So apparently we're not quite ready to move on from pull-ups even at home yet. (Insert music from 'The Apprentice" ... money, money, money, oooo yeah")

Example #2- The incident that sparked this thought tonight and this post... Evan was kneeling in the living room, spitting on the floor, which is unfortunately, the latest skill to be discovered. Several times, I said (okay, I yelled) "Evan, stop spitting!" but to no avail. Finally, I said "Do you want to sit in time out?" and he scrambled over a few feet and plopped himself down on the floor just like he was in time out. Except that there was no remorse or anything remotely close to it. Not even a tear. And he was back up, off and running probably 30 seconds later which brings me to one more parenting tip while I am on a roll...

Be consistent! Definitely hard on days like today. I should have been firm and put him in time out and set the timer for 90 seconds for the umpteenth time today. Evan was up at 4:20am, crying like he'd had a nightmare and he never really settled back down. Dan tried sleeping on his floor for a little bit, but he was up and ready for the day. Getting up early made Evan (and the rest of us) extra grouchy and Dan works both jobs today, so won't be home til late. SO all that to say, consistency is important, but even SuperMoms and SuperMom wannabees slip up sometimes. Just don't beat yourself up over it (are you listening, self?) and do a better job tomorrow.