Anyone else out there whose kid regularly throws a full-blown tantrum?
What do you do? Try to talk to them, ignore it? Discipline or not discipline? Let them flail, or try to hold them down so they don't hurt themselves (or you)? Stay with them, or leave the room?
Some nights we get Jonathan into bed and it takes me foever to recover. I was one of those kids who practically cringed at a certain tones of voice or frustrated glance. So watching my son turn into something that resembles JackJack at the end of "The Incredibles" really baffles me. And regardless of the route I choose during the tantrum, when it's over, I almost always feel like I picked the wrong one. And by the time he's done, I no longer remember what started it in the first place.
Sigh...raising kids is not for the faint of heart.
4 comments:
William Lafon has been known to do that! Since he is a little older than Jonathan, I am able to use Shepherding a Child's Heart. I have told Will that he is not allowed to throw a fit under any circumstances. If he does he is disobeying his parents, and that will result in "discipline". Discipline to him is a spanking.
Yes, you are correct - raising children is not for the faint of heart!
No it is not - or if one was faint of heart, they won't be for long after those little sweet things enter the picture.
Growth and grace..or growth through grace is more like it.
hey, let's do lunch tomorrow. :)
I've been thinking about what to post, and I make no guarantees (like there are ever any guarantees in parenting!).
When one of my children is in the midst of a massive fit, I send them somewhere where they can't hurt anyone else, find something to fuel the flame (usually a sibling), or hurt themselves. Typically, this is their bed. Once they calm down, I start in on their heart.
For me, I don't really deal with the situation until they are calm. I just don't think there's any point. Granted, if they have hurt someone in their fit, we deal with it immediately, even if there's still a fit being thrown.
When I "deal with the heart" we talk about what they did, why it was wrong, and they must apologize. On a good day, we spend time reading the Bible and praying, as I attempt to show them that when they sin towards me or someone else, they are also sinning towards God. As much as I would love to say that happens every time, it doesn’t.
Take heart!! It's not this hard forever. I don't have to go through this process every time with Elizabeth. So lay a solid, strong foundation, be consistent, and it will get a bit easier.
OK, I know I'm a little late in chiming in here, but it's been a while since I checked blogs. I wanted to encourage you by saying that this season is just that, a season. It won't last forever and there is a light at the end of the tunne. Keep doin' what you're doin'. You're a great mom.
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