Our little Princess will be 2 next month. She’s a handful, testing every limit and boundary we have in place. I know it’s normal and to be expected, but I find myself scrambling to figure out what works for her. You’d think by the fourth child I would be a pro at this stuff- and I thought I was… she proved me wrong!
A dear friend of mine, (who’s also adopted from the foster care system) reminded me of a few things to keep in mind. While the Princess is nearly 2 years old, emotionally she’s still much younger. When I step back and think of things that way, it helps me to understand why the Princess doesn’t seem to “get it”. She will, but it might not be for awhile. It helps me cope.
Still, I am frustrated. I’ve never been one to baby proof all of the kitchen cabinets or place pads on the side of the coffee table. Instead, we like to teach our children to respect boundaries. Unfortunately, The Princess has other plans in mind. [IMG]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/tnajk/AshleyCereal3.jpg[/IMG]
I find myself needing to get creative. I can’t just let her walk all over us after all. No, that would be disastrous. (You’ve seen them, the out of control families on Super Nanny?) I’ve gotten a few suggestions in the past few weeks...
1. She just needs a good spanking…. Um, no. While we aren’t anti- spanking, this isn’t the solution. Emotionally, the Princess is still a baby. What would she take away from that? Fear! Most importantly, we cannot spank her. She is after all, still in limbo and technically still a Foster Child. (Although it pains to be think of her that way) Big no-no!
2. Use an Egg Timer….. Ah, yeah….right! This comment came from her Speech Therapist. Honestly, she’s much too young for this. I understand his logic, but she certainly wouldn’t. The Egg Timer would become a “Yellow?” (A phone. She holds things up to her ear and says Yellow aka Hello. Even the shoes on her feet are Yellows!)
3. Redirection ……. It sounds good, in theory. Our Princess has a one track mind. When she has a goal, there’s no changing it!! She’s stubborn as all get out.
4. She needs a time out…...Yes, yes she does. Are you going to hold her there? I’ve never met an early 2 yr old that would sit for a time out. That’s something you use closer to 2 ½ or 3. Let’s see, at 2 yrs old, she’s supposed to be in time out for 2 minutes right? Well, I can get her to sit for about 20 seconds. IF you’re lucky! Hmmm, wonder if DHS would allow this kind of Time Out: [IMG]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/tnajk/timeout.jpg[/IMG] Ha, just kidding.
Ahhh, the joys of motherhood. I guess for now, I am stepping down as Queen of the household. Alas, the Princess will take over… have no fear. (No really….RUN!!!)
Super Nanny, you should be hearing from me very soon.
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