Fighting For Kindness
KINDNESS BEGINS WITH ME? Nope, with mommy making us into fireman and having us climb the kindness ladder before she will give us anything.
As a parent do you ever wonder, "What the heck has happened to get us here?"
I thought that the other morning when I asked my kids, "What would you like for breakfast?" and they both yelled at me, "Chips!" What!? Since when do they think that is breakfast? So, I calmly said, "No, we don't eat chips for breakfast. What else would you like?" Their reply, "Popsicles!" When I said no to the popsicles, it was over. Tantrums ensued for 10 minutes. I then wondered, "What the heck has happened to get us here?"
Well, I didn't mean to become a breeding factory for little, rotten boys (I don't really think that my kids are all rotten...they just have their moments) but I recognized that things were getting ugly, and so the kindness ladder was my solution.
I basically took away all of their toys, and other things that they considered to be a natural part of their days, like popsicles, going to the park, etc. and now they have to earn them by climbing the kindness ladder. It has been slow going at first, and we still aren't completely successful with it, but I'm through beginning my days with demands for popsicles and 10 minute tantrums. I'm the mom here! As silly as that last sentence sounds, during test times when Josh is completely consumed with school, and I feel like I have been with my kids alone for weeks solid, I have to remind myself, because sometimes you just want to let someone else have a turn.
1 comment:
Rock on! Let me know how it goes. I think that's a GREAT idea. And I'm all for letting someone else have a turn at being the mom. At right about 4:45 every evening I would abdicate my position without any qualms a'tall.
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