When my son was a baby and up until he was 4, he screamed almost non-stop. One day, we were at Wegman’s and some lady gave me the glare of all glares. Well, I am not a quiet person so I let her have it. I told her, “Listen, THAT is not helping me. Either you have had young children and you have been in my shoes before or you have never had children, in which case, you have no clue what I am going through. Either way, take your nasty face and get out of mine!” It felt so good! From that point on, I don’t worry what people think of me. Either they should understand or they can’t possibly understand and I pity them because they are so judgmental. Sidenote: I used that same line on the prestine business man who glared at me in Wegman’s when my credit card was denied and my food had to go in grocery jail until I could bail them out later.

I can also completely relate on the whole “It’s been a week since our children have misbehaved” conversation you had with Tate because my hubs and I have had the EXACT same one as well. However, from now on I will envision a palm tree growing out of my chin when he gives me that incredulous look and reminds me of the many trespasses our children have done and my sometimes (or maybe more than sometimes) reaction to those trespasses just within the past few hours…This just simply made me laugh out loud.

Lastly, thank you for your kind words on my blog today. You have been such an inspiration to me and have so completely helped me learn about this blogging world (still have much to learn but you got me going on the right foot!) that it means so much to hear that I might inspire YOU. I guess we have a symbiotic relationship then, huh?

Have a wonderful, tantrum-free weekend, Jen!
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..CR- A Hard Habit to Break… =-.

I tried the time out. The corner worked best for my son for some reason. Anther trick I used when nothing else worked was ZERO tolerance. That is when I told him to do something one time and if he didn’t do it he got his hind end smacked. It normally only took one day to get him back under control. Then I would just have to threaten it. Or I’d say do you want the nice mommy or the mean mommy and of course he would want the nice mommy. I saved zero tolerance as a last resort because I really hated to spank him but sometimes a child needs a little pop on the behind. I’m not saying beat them at all. ONLY YOU know if this is something that would work with your children. And obviously you couldn’t do it in public because omg the drama.

I’m not claiming to be a perfect parent… far from it. I’m just trying to help out a fellow mom on what worked with my son. And as well ALL know every child is different. What works for one will not for the other.

Good luck. I hope this passes as quickly as it came on.

It’s just God’s way of keeping me humble, I guess.

I decided that the parents that witness the tantrums of my children (yes, I am an imperfect parent, too) are not judging me. They are merely thinking, “Thank God it is finally happening to someone else.”
.-= Jen´s last blog ..The Leftovers =-.