Challenging, time consuming, overwhelming, confusing, enjoyable, crazy … just a few of the words that I hear describing parenthood. There are a lot of positives too, but we all know that sometimes they are hard to see. There’s a little trick though that can make some of the most annoying and crazy things your kids do a little less frustrating.
While we’re busy trying to pick our battles, we often need to stop and assess a situation as though from the outside. For instance, it makes me a little more than crazy that all of my older boys have a serious tendency to miss when using the toilet …. and miss often!
If I were to just get frustrated or angry with them and give them a lecture, I’m simply wasting my breath. I’ve been pretty relaxed about it lately trying to come up with a solution that requires no lectures or yelling on my part, but really sends the point home.
Solution – the older boys will each be assigned a day of the week to wipe down the toilet area. They are all old enough. The idea here is that if they have to clean it up they are less likely to me as careless, and if they are still careless, I’m not the one having to clean it up every single day.
Yes, it isn’t foolproof, and I still need to wipe down the seat every time I go in there, but it definitely was a much better solution to this annoying problem. There are so many other problems like this that again, if we step back and look at it from a different perspective we may come up with a much better and more creative solution.
The point is not to get so caught up in the frustrations of parenting that we can’t see solutions that may be right in front of us. I’m speaking from experience here! It is all too easy to just react to a situation or a common issue with each child instead of being PROactive about it! I learn this over and over again each and every day.
Sure, it definitely helps if I can start the day ahead of my kiddos … things are always a little rougher if I don’t get up before the twins are wide awake. This can be another challenge, but it is important or I feel like I’m playing catch up all day. Also starting the day with prayer is HUGE! I’m often so busy trying to get ahead of the younger kids that it’s all I can do to send up a quick prayer and that’s if I remember at all. But again, taking that few extra minutes can make all the difference in the world.
Do your children do something that is very frustrating right now? Maybe take a second and step back, looking at that problem objectively …. any new thoughts?
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July 28th, 2008 at 8:46 am 1
You are a wise woman my friend
July 28th, 2008 at 9:56 am 2
That’s a great solution!
I try to do the same thing with my kids…I try to redirect their energy from an undesirable behavior to a new, more desirable one, rather than yelling at them.
Bootsie Baby has many annoying habits right now, since she’s a toddler! One of them is screaming in my face. When she starts shrieking at me, I start to whisper back. It usually maker her laugh, and she whispers too!