Friday, September 2, 2011

Terrible Tantrums and Sweet Endings

My oldest son used to be the sweetest boy ever.  He was obedient, nondestructive, happy.  I am pretty sure aliens came from the not-so-distant planet, Terrible Toddlers, and traded my sweet boy for one of theirs.  Daily I have to listen to Davis yell and scream when he doesn't get his way, pick up toys, books, forks, balls, shoes, etc. that he has thrown, and carry him to his room for time-outs for all sorts of reasons.

The other night Davis was yelling and screaming and sobbing because Darren changed his clothes after he peed in them (again) instead of me (I was trying to get dinner on the table).  We sat down to eat and just let him keep going.  Finally after 20 minutes or so he came to me (Darren and I were at the table, calmly eating and trying to ignore the racket Davis was making) with shoulders heaving up and down and said,

"Make . . . me . . . stop . . . crying."  My heart almost broke.  He just couldn't stop crying and he really wanted to be done.  I gathered him up in my arms and held him until he calmed down.  He has done the same thing after a big tantrum several times since then.  My sweet boy really is in there somewhere!

On another note, though still about the alien who has stolen my son's body - A few nights ago I was so tired of Davis throwing his toys around that I told Darren to gather up the game pieces that were spread all over the living room and take them out to the garbage if Davis didn't help pick them up. It is a game he really likes and I thought for sure the threat would work.  I was even banking on a mini tantrum to show that he really cared if the game went in the garbage.  Nope.  He kept throwing things around and refused to pick the pieces up.  So I told Darren to take the game out to the big garbage in the garage - the blue one (wink, wink - that is the recycling bin, with only cardboard in it, and I knew we could go out later to get the game - I didn't actually want it gone - it is a great math game).  Davis jumped up and enthusiastically said,

"Can I take it out?"

Well, that didn't go as planned.  Apparently, I need to find a better consequence for throwing toys.  One that works.  Davis happily took his game out to the garbage (the blue one) and later that night Darren went out to get it and I put it away for sometime in the future.  I'm hoping the aliens will get tired of such a sweet boy and trade back soon.  Before I go crazy.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This too shall pass. Maybe he's still adjusting to not being the focus of all your attention since Noah was born. Just a thought... Hang in there.

MOM