Monday, November 3, 2008

I've decided that parenting is HARD!

The last few weeks Adam has been having a hard time. He is throwing fits about the littlest things, won't take naps, and hasn't been eating his food. So Mario and I decided that it is time to crack down and try to help Adam behave better. Tonight at dinner we had quesadillas and Adam refused to eat. So I gave him a very small portion but told him he couldn't get up from the table until he ate every bite. So of course the screaming starts and he kept trying to run away. Mario and I kept putting him back in the chair until he realized that if he said he had to go to the bathroom we would let him go. He has been having so many accidents lately we let him go potty. After about 5 trips to the bathroom he pooped his pants!!! So he had to get up from the table to take a shower and get jammies on. I think he thought he had won and no longer had to eat dinner. You should have seen his suprise when we put him back up to the table. Long story short...about 2 hours of putting him back in his chair everytime he left, he had eaten about half of his dinner. Suddenly it got very quiet. Mario went to check on him and this is what we found......


He had fallen fast asleep! Mario burst out laughing, but I cried. It was so frustrating that in the end he got his way and didn't eat his dinner. Mario however told me that we had won because we stuck to our guns and in the end he realized we weren't going to give up. So then I was able to laugh and take some pictures. What a night!
And as a side note to my mom and dad....sorry if I ever acted that way!

10 comments:

Tonilinn said...

Hi Linda! I know how hard this situation can be, I have raised 2 boys, worked with kids for 31 years for a living, and now I am on my 2nd family having Noah. It is hard for a while, but if you stick to your plan that you have going with Adam, sooner, or later he will get the idea of things. 3 years old is definetally a hard age to deal with, trust me! Hang in there!!!

Tonilinn said...

Adam is 3 right? If not, please correct me. Either way, toddlers are a hard age, arent they???

Crissy said...

Oh man...I would have cried too! I totally agree that parenting is very hard. I'm experiencing some of the same things right now with Parker. He loves to exert his will, and of course we have to let him since he has agency, but there are always consequences...like falling asleep at the dinner table. ;0)

Brian Lutz said...

Ah, the old fashioned "you're not leaving the table until you eat everything" trick. I seem to recall that one (although I think Heather was usually the one trying to pull that one off.) Maybe if you didn't have such comfy chairs at the dining room table...

Bean said...

Linda, I hope you don't mind me checking out your blod. It was nice meeting you the other night! you have a cute blog!!

Anonymous said...

My parents did that and look what happened! I guess I am just a softie.

Tana said...

Poor thing. I don't know how he can put up with you crazy parents and your radical new fangled ideas. One day he will eat 12 plates and you will have nothing left. Ahhhh, the good old days. He is still scared of me if you need me to scare him into eating.

Anja said...

Oh Man I totally feel your pain! I hate those days! You can always call if you need anything! 774-3948

Cameron, Shannon Voge said...

That is too funny! You guys are good parents though! We went through a time like that about a year ago with Hallie and now she eats salad (yes, salad!) before anything else on her plate and for snacks she asks for apples or bananas before crackers...so see? There is light at the end of the tunnel!!

Just what is a Clair? said...

Hey this is Clair (Steininger) I sneak peak on your blog from Corine's blog.:) Jane sometimes gets pretty picky about food, though most of the time she is awesome. Sometimes it will go on for a few days. For awhile we just gave her something we knew she would eat, but then I was like, hey we are the parents and you need to eat what we have. We can't afford two different meals for every meal. She is way to squirmy to try and make her stay at the table so I whenever she wouldn't eat what we were having I would just be like, ok, tha tis fine, but this is what we are having and if you are hungry this is what you need to eat. Kids won't starve, atleast Jane won't, so eventually she will eat what we have, even if it is a few hours later. Maybe that sounds pretty harsh, but it works.:) Parenting is hard sometimes, but I love it! And man are the good times AMAZING!!!

ps.our family blog is www.hamakerlove.blogspot.com