One of my better parenting moments-
I was under the weather the other day, detoxing from sugar and wheat.
Stuffy nose, major headache, groggy mind, no energy, "carb flu" as my
paleo friends would call it. I hadn't planned anything for dinner, so I
figured we'd go get something easy at the store.
Josh (8y) was also not at his best. He hadn't slept well, and he hadn't had enough to eat. Also it w...as cold outside, and he hates to be cold.
So we pull up to the store and the following goes down-
Josh- I'm not getting out of the car.
Me- Come on. Let's go inside and get something to eat.
Josh- Its FREEZING!!! I'm just staying here!
Me- You're hungry, let's go inside and get you something to eat.
J- (on the verge of tears) But I can't eat anything in there and then
we're going to have to buy it and take it back home and then eat it and
I'm going to starve!
M- You can pick what you want to eat, open it, eat it, and then I'll pay for it when we check out.
J- No! Its too cold! I just want to stay here!
M- I'm not leaving you out here alone. Please, get out of the car and lets go inside.
J- No!
M- Honey, you're hungry and tired and aren't acting like yourself. Lets go get some food.
J-No!
M- Josh, please, come on. Let's go.
J- No! You can't tell me what to do! You don't control me!
M- That's true. And likewise, you don't control me. I do not feel
comfortable leaving you alone in the car. If you choose to stay here, I
will choose to get back in the car too. Then I will drive home, to where
we have no meal prepared and you still won't have anything to eat
quickly. Or we can go in together and get you something to eat right
now.
J- (grumbles under breath) Okay fine....
So we went
in and he got himself some chocolate covered peanuts from the bulk bin.
Two minutes later he was a completely different person.
It was
hard for me to keep my cool in the moment. I didn't feel well myself,
and people were staring as they walked past. What got me through was
focusing on the fact that his needs weren't being met, and that was why
he was acting out. No one is at their best when they're tired and
hungry.See More
"
I was under the weather the other day, detoxing from sugar and wheat. Stuffy nose, major headache, groggy mind, no energy, "carb flu" as my paleo friends would call it. I hadn't planned anything for dinner, so I figured we'd go get something easy at the store.
Josh (8y) was also not at his best. He hadn't slept well, and he hadn't had enough to eat. Also it w...as cold outside, and he hates to be cold.
So we pull up to the store and the following goes down-
Josh- I'm not getting out of the car.
Me- Come on. Let's go inside and get something to eat.
Josh- Its FREEZING!!! I'm just staying here!
Me- You're hungry, let's go inside and get you something to eat.
J- (on the verge of tears) But I can't eat anything in there and then we're going to have to buy it and take it back home and then eat it and I'm going to starve!
M- You can pick what you want to eat, open it, eat it, and then I'll pay for it when we check out.
J- No! Its too cold! I just want to stay here!
M- I'm not leaving you out here alone. Please, get out of the car and lets go inside.
J- No!
M- Honey, you're hungry and tired and aren't acting like yourself. Lets go get some food.
J-No!
M- Josh, please, come on. Let's go.
J- No! You can't tell me what to do! You don't control me!
M- That's true. And likewise, you don't control me. I do not feel comfortable leaving you alone in the car. If you choose to stay here, I will choose to get back in the car too. Then I will drive home, to where we have no meal prepared and you still won't have anything to eat quickly. Or we can go in together and get you something to eat right now.
J- (grumbles under breath) Okay fine....
So we went in and he got himself some chocolate covered peanuts from the bulk bin. Two minutes later he was a completely different person.
It was hard for me to keep my cool in the moment. I didn't feel well myself, and people were staring as they walked past. What got me through was focusing on the fact that his needs weren't being met, and that was why he was acting out. No one is at their best when they're tired and hungry.See More
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