A very large vent

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So I'm puzzled by motherhood, or perhaps my ability to be an effective mother. I see pictures of my friends' kids with arms in the air and giant smiles on their faces. I witness sweet, young children holding their mother's hand while shopping in the store. I've even seen women with multiples of the same age all giggling and enjoying life. So why don't I feel like Kate and I fit into this wonderful world of happiness and glee??

Lately it seems that just about everything we do involves Kate's unhappiness with me. We go for a walk - total meltdown. We venture to the park - giant alligator tears. I take her for a bike ride on a beautiful 65 degree day - sweaty tantrum. 99% of the time I react calmly and move to something new but I'm drawing near the end of reason. Is it just teething?

I luckily still find the humor and irony in many of our situations. Take today for example. At the height of Kate's tantrum I stop the bike to see what is the problem when the bike tips onto me and the chain falls off just as a loose dog runs at us like we are covered in meat. Unnerving at the time but a little funny afterwards knowing we are all in one piece. I want Kate to enjoy spending time with me. What can I do to help her have more fun?

So yesterday I asked everyone to share their monster cookie recipes. Today I need advice to help me hold onto my last ounce of sanity. Words of wisdom anyone?

Comments

Anonymous said…
AH Kate thinks she's two (or thirteen) ;o)

It seems silly and like they are too young, but around Kate's age, we started sending Ellie to her room when she was throwing fits. If she started throwing a fit, we asked her if she wanted to go to her room and cry. Most of the time she ended up in her room and cried. After 5-10 minutes she was more than happy to come out and be flexible.

I don't know if it works for every kid, but it definitely has cut down on some of our battles. They realize that crying isn't getting them anything but an even more unpleasant situation. They know you aren't going to give in just because they throw a fit.

Also, I hated it when people told me this, but some of the unpleasantness might be because of the teething. Have you ever noticed everything can be blamed on teething?

Good luck!!
May 21, 2008 at 5:55 PM
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