Thursday 26 July 2012

"Time In"

Anyone who has ever been a parent knows that the toddler years can be, ahem, difficult, to say the least. We struggle with bedtime, bath time, getting dressed, brushing teeth, brushing hair, holding my hand to cross the street, and basically anything that I ask of her. And my all-time favourite, eating dinner. Or not eating dinner... which is usually how it goes.
Sometimes I am able to ignore bad behaviour, but some days she really likes to test me. And sometimes her behaviour can put her in unsafe situations, or she is hurting herself or, more likely, me. I have tried the thinking step, better known as a time out. It doesn't work. She doesn't listen, she gets more upset, and she ends up hurting herself from flailing around screaming.

The past few weeks my new approach has been a "time-in". Which is exactly what it sounds like... I put her on my lap and talk to her until she is calm and ready to try again. Surprisingly, this is working. I also don't feel guilty like I did with the time outs. If she has a temper tantrum in public its a much easier approach than a time out.

I'd love to hear what other parents of toddlers are doing. Share your experiences with me!

Wednesday 25 July 2012

sitting, waiting, wishing

Lately I've been dreaming big..... hoping for something to happen, anything really. Sometimes I feel like I'm running so fast, but it's only taking me around and around in a big circle. My biggest focus is and always will be Grace. I want her to grow up stronger, braver, smarter, and better off then me. But the only way to do that is to show her how -- so I'm jumping in head first -- some big changes are about to happen and I'm excited.

PS unfortunately I can't share with you just what is happening .. but I will soon ;)