It's All About Principles.

My husband and I have been battling the "Terrible Two's" since right after H turned 1 last March. Or so we thought... Her actions and behavior goes in waves. Just like her teething (which she is completely DONE with!! WOOHOO!!) Our daughter is unbelievably smart and sweet but she is still a child. As she grows she is constantly learning and if there is one thing that helps me to deal with handling her in these tough times it's reminding myself that how I react to her bad behavior will help to shape her as she gets older.

I have had to seek out advice from close friends of mine, read articles online, and pray to God for patience and guidance in dealing with H. This is all new to me too.

What has been the hardest to deal with, I think, is the stubborn repetition of disobedience. I can scold her time after time to not throw her food down on the floor but she keeps doing it. A lot of times I don't have the energy to keep scolding her so I just give up and that's not what I need to do if I ever want it to get better.

One thing you should know about me is that I do believe in spankings. If time-out works for you, that's ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL but 9 times out of 10 it does not work for us.

A lot of the things I have to get on to her for are not even huge deals but they are PRINCIPLES. I'll be at the playground and H will do something to a kid and I will tell her to say her sorry or something and the parent will say "It's okay! I think he was doing such & such..." I always tell them "I know but it's a principle."

But I can be so lazy with punishment because it does take work. Bad behavior comes so naturally to kids. It is exhausting teaching good behavior but it has to be done. There are certain rules that I am pretty adamant about here in our house when it comes to our daughter.

We eat at the table.
We eat what is in front of you.
You may get down when Mommy & Daddy say you can get down.
We say "Excuse me", "Thank You", "Ma'am", "Sir", and "Please"
You obey Mommy & Daddy the FIRST time we tell you something.
You may not pitch a fit if you don't like something.
You listen when Mommy & Daddy are talking to you.
Good manners in public are a MUST.
You look people in the eyes when they're talking to you.
We share.
We are polite and kind to others.
We love the Lord and We obey His commandments.

Now call me southern or old-fashioned if you want but I bet if some of these things would've been enforced more we wouldn't be seeing so much of Miss Miley Cyrus! And It doesn't matter how lazy I get at times there is nothing that could cause me to scratch one of these rules off my list. I have to remind myself that how I teach our daughter here at home will reflect how she acts in public and how she acts once she is no longer under my wing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It's no easy task. I just keep hoping all my efforts will pay off one day :)

xoxo,

Exhausted in Los Angeles