Logic Update

So this Love and Logic experiment has turned into a weird mix of my do-what-comes-easier approach and the more strict approach that the book suggests. This is an overview of our successes and failures the past couple of weeks.....

Day 14 - Spends two hours crying and screaming about not wanting to wear underwear (with a dress!). Leah and I spend time outside playing waiting for her to come out, with periodic checks on her to make sure that no, she is not calm enough yet.

Day 16 - Complains, whines, and cries so much that Ryan leaves without her for a Phillies game. Unbelievable drama unfolds for the next half an hour but then surprising remorse is displayed.

Day 17 - Picks out a dress and shoes at a store that she insists she will wear. Wears the dress without issue but the shoes are 'too itchy'. I point out that if she does not wear the shoes at some point she will have to 'earn' back the money that I paid for them since they are not returnable. Morgan looks at me and then says 'ok, I will wear them later, just not today'. Still remains to be seen.

Day 18 - Got presented with so many choices that she was starting to look at me like I was crazy and indecisive.

Day 20 - Got dressed without issue for school, asked me nicely to braid her hair and packed her own lunch :-)

There were other small successes that I was proud of but my memory escapes me right now. Still plodding away....

Love and Logic....the First Saga

My four year old has been giving me attitude problems lately. Talking back, yelling, not listening...you get the idea, being a four year old. Unfortunately, I seem to be hard wired to get really pissed off at all this disrespect. I am like a bull with a red flag. My first instinct is to make her do what I want, when I say, and dammit don't question me!

I am aware that this method is ridiculous because I myself do whatever I damn please regardless of what I am told to do. I wouldn't expect anything less of my darling offspring either. So I decided to do what I always do when I am at a loss, find books on the subject and absorb all the information until my head is about to explode. Do you know how many parenting/discipline books there are? Do a search on Amazon and you will get back 1300 hits. How the hell do I read 1300 books?!

I saw a few recommendations online about this Love and Logic method so I perused the book in Barnes and Noble one day and it seemed to make sense. It also called for complete calmness by the parent at all times.....yeah, ok, that is not going to happen but I am willing to give it a shot.

This is highlights of the last two weeks since I have been implementing this method:

Day 1: Morgan spends two hours crying in and out of her bedroom because she doesn't want to get dresssed.
Day 3: She goes to the store in the car in just her underwear and a t-shirt because she did not get dressed by the appointed time
Day 6: She goes to karate in her pajamas because she was not dressed by the appointed time
Day 8: She throws a 30 minute fit because she did not want to take a bath and therefore missed her nightly viewing of Caillou
Day 9: She gets dressed all by herself for school, brushes her hair and teeth and tells me that she doesn't want to be late.....(what?)

I'll keep you posted on the rest.....now if only I can get Ryan to read this book, he is totally lost on what I am doing.