Number 7’s go to insult is “You smell like a butthole.” A few years ago, I would have responded to this differently than I do now. A few years ago, I would have reprimanded and shamed any of the kids for speaking to each other that way. Or I would have, out of exasperation, pretended […]
positive discipline
Do vs. Don’t
Sometimes I get to the end of the day and I feel like all I’ve done is say no and don’t to the kids 5,000 times and tell them to stop doing stuff. The no’s and the don’ts are tiring and not fun — for me or for the kids — and they aren’t especially effective. […]
I’m Done Looking For My Kids’ Sh*t
We had the first family meeting we’ve had in a while this morning. Some of the kids have been asking for one for a long time now, and with the change in schedules now that the school year has started, we really needed one. We aren’t all on the same page, and there was something […]
Mommy, I Need To Talk To You.
A couple years ago after totally losing my shit on Number 3 and 4 in the car on the way to a swim meet, I made the decision to stop yelling at my kids. I did this because I felt like an out of control psycho when I yelled at them, because they laughed at […]
I Stopped Rescuing And Started Finding Solutions
One of the things that often frustrates me as a parent is when my kids don’t deal with situations I know they are capable of handling on their own. But often this happens to us because in so many other situations, we have fixed the problem for them. It’s also hard to see your kids […]
The Shade Exchange
I wanted to share my latest power struggle with you. Because 1) I lost, and 2) in hindsight, I can see that I was being kind of unreasonable. Two nights ago, I went in to Number 3’s room to say goodnight to him. He was rolling up the shade on the window by his bed. […]