I was going to write a post yesterday about how Alex's temper tantrums seem to be on a path of decreased frequency. But I ran out of time yesterday. And then I did something really stupid that made me forget that he isn't having nearly as many tantrums.
I let him run around and play for close to an hour after he normally goes to bed. Which started out not being a problem. We read some books, he had some milk and was ready to lay down for the night. At which point my lovely little doggie exploded into a barking fit...because Travis and Brent came home. That dog is going to be the end of me. After Alex sushed Aiden from his room, he wanted to go see what was going on in the kitchen. I said no and that it was time for bed. His back arched, all of his limbs became stiff as concrete, his head spun around 6 times and the screaming began. An HOUR LATER, after angrily screeching and screaming and crying and kicking and throwing, he fell asleep. It has been a super long time since that happened and man alive I did not miss it.
Before Meltdown 2011 happened, I had gotten the quarterly parenting pamphlet in the mail from the hospital where Alex was born. These pamphlets have tidbits of info about what your kid is learning, developmental milestones to expect, and helpful tips for parents. One of its main points this issue was that as a parent, you need to not be so hard on yourself. It said you should give yourself 1 major & 3 minor guilt-free screw ups every day. I am going to count the late bedtime as my major screw up. Still working on the guilt-free part. Alex's red puffy eyes did not help with that this morning.
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