Hey all,
Been a while. So a little background. We have Isabelle, a lovely little 17 month old bundle of joy. We have recently had Alice, a 4 day old bundle of gurgling sleeping adorableness.
After 2 days, Alice came home with her mother. Then, the seventh circle of hell opened up and our older girl has become a bit of a nightmare. She wasn't as bad today, but she's definately having a bit of a strop.
When Alice cries - Isabelle cries. Not only does she cry, she almost mimmicks Alices crying. It's as though we have a litter of kittens all meowing for attention and food in unison. I guess this is just natural pack mentality for kids and babies who have yet to 'find themselves' - but it's driving us nuts!
She takes great delight in persisting to try and get to places that she's been told off for venturing in to, repeatedly climbing on things she's been told not to climb on and throwing things on the floor, reaching for drinks...
The problem I'm having at the moment is I'm firm with her, but I dont smack, I try not to shout unless it's to startle her if she's putting herself in danger - for example coming in to the kitchen and straying a little too close to an oven that has just been turned off, so I'll shout to quickly get her attention.
However I'm finding it very difficult to be firm with her, as she tends to giggle when I talk to her in a stern tone. She also does the most horrible crying face ever, which can really tug at the heart strings if you've just had to tell her off, or take away something that she shouldn't have gotten hold of.
She doesn't talk yet, so she's not able to fully express herself. She tends to treat everything as a game and I'm looking for some way of making it clear when I approve of things and when I dont. More importantly, for her to recognise when this is the case.
Things went a little too far today when her mother who has just had a caesarian bent down (which she shouldn't have done!) to pick up her plastic beaker that she'd dropped and placed it back on the high chair. Mistaking this for the usual game of 'fetch' she seems to like to play, she casually dropped the beaker on the floor again.
The OH then went off to lay down having just found it quite hard to bend down (I didn't know she was doing this!) and have the cup thrown on the floor.
As I'm off for 2 weeks having taken leave from work, it's a good time for me to assert myself around the house and actually show Sam some support on the discipline side, but I have to admit - I'm having a hard time of it.
Today was very stressful and I think we both just wanted to crawl off to a corner and sulk ourselves..
I have a bit of confusion with regards to what the hell a parent is supposed to do with children these days. I'm finding myself swimming amongst a sea of conflicting information. People over a certain age will often be heard saying "I got a clip around the ear and it didn't do me any harm" then right around the next corner you have someone sporting the latest and greatest book by a child psychologist, dealing with all the politically correct ways to discipline a child.
ARGH! Help us!
Needed that rant... but seriously, any advice or similar experiences would be appreciated.
Been a while. So a little background. We have Isabelle, a lovely little 17 month old bundle of joy. We have recently had Alice, a 4 day old bundle of gurgling sleeping adorableness.
After 2 days, Alice came home with her mother. Then, the seventh circle of hell opened up and our older girl has become a bit of a nightmare. She wasn't as bad today, but she's definately having a bit of a strop.
When Alice cries - Isabelle cries. Not only does she cry, she almost mimmicks Alices crying. It's as though we have a litter of kittens all meowing for attention and food in unison. I guess this is just natural pack mentality for kids and babies who have yet to 'find themselves' - but it's driving us nuts!
She takes great delight in persisting to try and get to places that she's been told off for venturing in to, repeatedly climbing on things she's been told not to climb on and throwing things on the floor, reaching for drinks...
The problem I'm having at the moment is I'm firm with her, but I dont smack, I try not to shout unless it's to startle her if she's putting herself in danger - for example coming in to the kitchen and straying a little too close to an oven that has just been turned off, so I'll shout to quickly get her attention.
However I'm finding it very difficult to be firm with her, as she tends to giggle when I talk to her in a stern tone. She also does the most horrible crying face ever, which can really tug at the heart strings if you've just had to tell her off, or take away something that she shouldn't have gotten hold of.
She doesn't talk yet, so she's not able to fully express herself. She tends to treat everything as a game and I'm looking for some way of making it clear when I approve of things and when I dont. More importantly, for her to recognise when this is the case.
Things went a little too far today when her mother who has just had a caesarian bent down (which she shouldn't have done!) to pick up her plastic beaker that she'd dropped and placed it back on the high chair. Mistaking this for the usual game of 'fetch' she seems to like to play, she casually dropped the beaker on the floor again.
The OH then went off to lay down having just found it quite hard to bend down (I didn't know she was doing this!) and have the cup thrown on the floor.
As I'm off for 2 weeks having taken leave from work, it's a good time for me to assert myself around the house and actually show Sam some support on the discipline side, but I have to admit - I'm having a hard time of it.
Today was very stressful and I think we both just wanted to crawl off to a corner and sulk ourselves..
I have a bit of confusion with regards to what the hell a parent is supposed to do with children these days. I'm finding myself swimming amongst a sea of conflicting information. People over a certain age will often be heard saying "I got a clip around the ear and it didn't do me any harm" then right around the next corner you have someone sporting the latest and greatest book by a child psychologist, dealing with all the politically correct ways to discipline a child.
ARGH! Help us!
Needed that rant... but seriously, any advice or similar experiences would be appreciated.
