When the G-man was younger, he spent a lot of time in the corner. And by a lot, I mean that sometimes he took his naps there.
Thankfully, I’ve blocked most of his naughtiness out of my mind, so I had to ask Hubby to refresh my memory on why he was always in trouble. He said that he would ignore us, and never listen. Then the memories of counting came flooding back. You know, give them to the count of three before all heck breaks loose, counting. I would say in my, I’m the parent, and you will listen to me, voice, “ONE!” And after enough training, (for some reason Pavlov’s dogs come to mind) he would come running. For those of you who know G-man in his current greatness, the fact that he could be a naughty little boy might surprise you. By the time the princess was born he was out of that particular stage. (he’s been through a lot of stages, *withered sigh*)
The princess hasn’t had any really naughty stages till the ripe old age of four. It’s been about 4 or 5 years since I’ve had to put anyone in the corner or in time out, so I’ve kind of forgotten that is an option. I don’t ever send my kids to their room when they’re in trouble because that’s where most of their toys are, they will just go and play.
Case in point, when I was a kid, I only remember being sent to my room once, and it was by my dad! Let me tell you, that was on odd occurrence. He was not the disciplinarian in our family, my mom was. My dad is a pretty mellow, easy going guy. He doesn’t get riled up. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him angry. He gets annoyed by things every once in awhile, but I can’t really even picture him actually angry at something or someone. I have no idea what I did that day, but it must have been something! I remember my mom was gone, (probably working) and after I was banished to my room, I roamed the upstairs to find something to do. I don’t think I took it as seriously as I would have if my mom had done the banishing, I actually remember being somewhat amused, it was just such an odd occurrence! Anyway, I found some crayons and a coloring book to pass the time, and for some reason felt the need to ask him if I could use them. I called downstairs to ask and he told me no, (Wow! He was asserting his authority!) but I figured, I have them, I’m still going to use them. So the time I was sent to my room actually ended up being play time. (sorry dad, to let you know 20+ years later that your attempt at discipline didn’t go so well!)
Oh yes, the princess and time out! (See, I get back to my point eventually!) She is going through a mouthy stage right now. She likes to argue and huff, and roll her eyes at us and generally try to make us feel like we are the dumbest people on the planet. (and I was under the misperception that wouldn’t start till she was a teenager! Ha!!) I generally just tell her to knock it off and to not talk to me like that. Then I remembered time out! I make her sit in the front room by herself for 5 minutes and she doesn’t like it! She’s not used to it, and she really doesn’t like having to sit there by herself. Hopefully we can nip this little behavior in the bud, because I don’t want a bratty child!
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