I’m reparenting. Ella has turned into a little tornado and I’m in the process of kicking it square in the butt before I end up with a sassy little teen! I blogged the other day about how out of control she’s been lately, and I’ve decided to just buckle down and get this under control.
I’m not gonna lie… it’s been DOWNRIGHT DIFFICULT! She’s used to getting away with a lot because I would prefer to just give in than do the hard work of sticking it out and sticking to my word. That’s where I have been failing as a parent. I owe it to her to teach her that she has rules, she has to respect her parents and that we are here to love her, and ensure that she is raised the right way!
We’d been through so much with Ella that I think we both just sortof let things slide. I’d think oh that’s nice, she just poured her lemonade out all over her…. well, at least she’s alive to be able to do that. It could be so much worse, because she could not be here. So instead of getting frustrated and getting on her we both instead let things slide. HUGE MISTAKE! I’m just happy that I’m changing things before it’s too late.
Consistency. I’m being as consistent as a rock is hard! Not easy… takes and extreme amount of patience {blogged about that today} so not only is this changing her, but it’s changing me. We are both being changed for the better. I’m finding that life is actually 110% easier when giving the toddler boundaries, and she’s realizing that MOM MEANS BUSINESS!
I think the most shocking thing ever is that I’m seeing results so quickly. I’m giving her choices for the most part on things, and she’s picking one or the other and realizing that this is the way it is. However, the little smartie realized that she can say that she wants an option that I’m not giving her…. EXAMPLE: Tonight I was working in my room/office and had the baby gate up so she couldn’t come inside. She was having a MELTDOWN! I gave her the option of either going to hang out with her dad downstairs for her brother in their room. She thought long and hard about this and said, “Mama!” CRAP! That was not an option….. how is her little brain able to think outside of the box? Oh! I know, because she’s abnormally smart!Today for naptime she slept in her own bed. I didn’t have to continually put her in her bed, she layed down (which is normally a fight) and asked for “Bobby” and I told her that she’d be a big girl and get a sticker if she’d lay down and take a nap in her bed. Almost 3 hours late she opened her door and came out with a huge smile on her face. She was PROUD OF HERSELF!!!!! And I was just as proud of her too!!
As I type this extremely long novel of our events here she’s sleeping in her bed. Ever since I layed her down in her bed she’s stayed there. If it lasts all night long she’s getting cake for breakfast! Okay, I’m totally kidding, but she’ll get to add a sticker to her chart that we’re going to make her tomorrow.
I know that parenting is hard, but seeing the benefits of having patience and sticking with it makes it so worth it. I feel not only proud of her, but proud of myself as well for having the patience she deserves and showing her that she has boundries and she MUST respect her parents.
Im so proud of you! Reparenting can definitely be a hard task to accomplish…its just like relearning how to do something you already know how to do. It takes time and patience and alot of effort to succeed. I know that you will rock at this, and I hope to learn from your own experiences that you conquer! Your definitely a inspiration to me when it comes to parenting and I wish you the best of luck with this. I look forward to reading your journey about reparenting 🙂
Good for you for sticking to it! I know it's hard but we owe it to our kids. In the long run they're so much better off for knowing limits!