So - I'm not sure if I need to jump on this or not. I'll be honest. DD2 hasn't left my arms all day, except when I've gone pee. It's hot. I'm tired and really out of it and feel like crap (maybe fighting a bug - not sure). I'm wearing my socks and he's on our dirty, dry leaf strewn patio (it's not a normal patio - more of a very, very small, fenced-in backyard...dirt and a few patio stones, but no actual deck). I'd kind of like to just ignore it, but I want some input.
We've had a bad ongoing dynamic with ds2. He's kind of high needs, possibly somewhat hyposensitive in some ways, and just...challenging. The last couple of years have been tough for all of us, and I have to admit there's been a lot of yelling and lot of threats that haven't been followed through on ("pick these toys up or I'm throwing them all away" in a fit of anger, then calming down and either letting it go, or imposing much less significant consequences). I was also so exhausted throughout my last pregnancy that I just dragged, and let him do a lot of things, just because he didn't stop when I told him to.
I'm making a serious effort to give him more regular positive attention (because he deserves that attention, because I adore him, and because it's a great preventative measure). I'm also trying really hard to address behaviour as soon as it happens...interceding when he hits his sister, breaking up squabbles when they start, taking things away when he's not supposed to have them and/or is playing with them unsafely or whatever. I'm also breaking the habit of telling him to do things and not following through. It's been going a lot better in the last few weeks.
So, here's today's thing. We have a couple of those little medicine squirters - the ones that are like a hypodermic, but without a needle. DS2 got one and was squirting water with it out on the patio. That's fine. Then, he aimed it at me, at the computer, through the open patio door. I told him to "stop", and he shot the water at me. There is no squirting water in the house, and "stop" means stop. These are absolute house rules. So, I detached nursing dd2 (I hate doing that) and took the squirter away. He headed for another one on the windowsill, so I took it, too. I put them both up, and told him he could have them back tomorrow, but he wasn't following the rules.
A couple of hours later, he got the third one, which I'd forgotten all about, out of the downstairs bathroom and went back on the patio. He's been squirting again.
If I just ignore that, do you think I'll be undermining the "no squirting, and the squirters are put away" thing...or can I get away with letting this go, as long as he doesn't squirt in the house again?
We've had a bad ongoing dynamic with ds2. He's kind of high needs, possibly somewhat hyposensitive in some ways, and just...challenging. The last couple of years have been tough for all of us, and I have to admit there's been a lot of yelling and lot of threats that haven't been followed through on ("pick these toys up or I'm throwing them all away" in a fit of anger, then calming down and either letting it go, or imposing much less significant consequences). I was also so exhausted throughout my last pregnancy that I just dragged, and let him do a lot of things, just because he didn't stop when I told him to.
I'm making a serious effort to give him more regular positive attention (because he deserves that attention, because I adore him, and because it's a great preventative measure). I'm also trying really hard to address behaviour as soon as it happens...interceding when he hits his sister, breaking up squabbles when they start, taking things away when he's not supposed to have them and/or is playing with them unsafely or whatever. I'm also breaking the habit of telling him to do things and not following through. It's been going a lot better in the last few weeks.
So, here's today's thing. We have a couple of those little medicine squirters - the ones that are like a hypodermic, but without a needle. DS2 got one and was squirting water with it out on the patio. That's fine. Then, he aimed it at me, at the computer, through the open patio door. I told him to "stop", and he shot the water at me. There is no squirting water in the house, and "stop" means stop. These are absolute house rules. So, I detached nursing dd2 (I hate doing that) and took the squirter away. He headed for another one on the windowsill, so I took it, too. I put them both up, and told him he could have them back tomorrow, but he wasn't following the rules.
A couple of hours later, he got the third one, which I'd forgotten all about, out of the downstairs bathroom and went back on the patio. He's been squirting again.
If I just ignore that, do you think I'll be undermining the "no squirting, and the squirters are put away" thing...or can I get away with letting this go, as long as he doesn't squirt in the house again?
