Parenting with Love & Logic
Raising a toddler is no easy task. Sam is a fun-loving, dinosaur-loving, silly, stubborn & smart kid!
He’s also two. Which means he’s testing his limits and constantly trying to figure out how to get his way. My first instinct is simply to use what my parents used for discipline. But do I really even know? I mean…I was two. Bound and determined to gather new ideas for discipline and getting MY WAY - BECAUSE I’M THE MOM - I listened to Parenting with Love & Logic. My college roommate, who is now an elementary school principal, recommended it. I, too, recommend it if you are searching for healthy ways to deal.
It was September 9th. I was at my wits’ end. Hollis had just turned two months old and Sam was nearly 2.5. Everything I tried to do that morning failed. No task was completed without someone crying or whining - myself included. Hollis pooped in the swing and Sam wasn’t listening to a damn thing I was saying. Why won’t these tiny humans just cooperate? At 11:30a.m., I gave up on the day. I put my pajamas back on, washed my face, grabbed the bag of goldfish - AKA Lunch - and all three of us watched Terrific Trucks and fell asleep.
I had to get this figured out!! I’ve GOT to figure out how to get Sam to listen to me without me yelling. Because at the point that I’m yelling - my heart starts racing and I’m too worked up to be a good mom. Sam would either yell back or we would both end up crying, escalating the situation even further. We also tried threats and spanking. Threats were annoying and he laughed when we popped him on the butt. Fail. Fail. Thanks to Love & Logic, I now have strategies that work! Here are my three biggest takeaways.
Disengage. Your anger becomes a game to them.
You can’t control what they do, but you can control where they do it.
Offer options and thinking questions.
Want to throw a fit? Go for it! Just don’t do it around me! When the timer goes off and if you’re ready to be nice, you can come out and play. Would you like to walk to your room? Or would you like me to carry you?
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