Squirt bottle as a disciplinary tool? - Page 2

[Niamh]

((hugs)) to your friend. Postpartum can be difficult.

[KristaDJ]

I was getting a boiling bowl of water out of the microwave once and my son (4 or 5 and never did what I said without questing me) came running up to me right under the bowl. I put up my foot and pushed him away. He was mad but I did what I had to. Obviously I'd never advocate squirting or kicking your kids as a regular disciplinary tool but sometimes drastic times call for drastic measures.Tell your friend, "GOOD THINKING, MAMA!"

[MommyKelly]

I had a teacher that would spray us with a water bottle in high school if we fell asleep, or werent paying attention. It was kinda funny to us back then.

I wouldnt beat myself up over it. It was a needed tool at the time to prevent something that could have been terrible.

[Wild Lupine]

When my children have had close calls I've tended to obsess later on about what could have happened. The situation replays in my mind almost like a post-trauma event, even waking me up at night. Maybe that's what is happening to your friend, but instead of seeing the shelf almost fall and her son being hurt or killed, she sees herself squirting him with water. When enough time has passed and she sees that there's been no lasting harm, she will probably be able to move on, and see her behavior as appropriate and necessary to the situation.

[kriket]

I use a spray bottle for my dogs (my kids too little for discipline) I would use a spray bottle as an attention grabber. If he wasn't listening or I couldn't get his attention, I would spray a kid. However, I use the spray bottle as punishment for the dogs. I threaten them with it. Like if they don't sit down or stop staring at me while I eat I will shake it or point it at them (it very rarely actually gets sprayed these days) I wouldn't threaten a child with being sprayed. I wouldn't threaten a child with anything. Except natural consequences , like don't climb on that or you will fall, or don't eat that or you will be sick.

[Toolip]

Sounds like that squirt was less traumatic than if she had yelled! I don't think that anyone would question a mama who yelled because her kid was about to pull a shelf down on themselves!

I think she took a very gentle route in a scary situation.

[contactmaya]

...wanted to comment here without having read the other posts. ..i once did the same thing to my child. He cried alot and said 'You squirted me!!!"

I apologised profusely, and said i didnt mean to squirt him.

For the other mother, i know how she feels. She can just apologise to her child, give him a hug, and say she didnt mean it but was very scared....
Maya

[j_p_i]

Originally Posted by Niamh

I came on here ready to be all up in arms about a spray bottle being used as routine discipline. That would be very, very wrong. Even using it routinely to get his attention would be 'bad, lazy parenting'.

But what she did? She thought fast and used what she had to get his attention, saving him from serious harm. Not an issue, in my book.

Exactly! I think use of a squirt bottle as a tool all the time, like people do with cats, no way! But this is completely different in my book. She may have stopped her toddler from serious injury!

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

I had been avoiding reading this thread because I seriously thought it was going to piss me off! Now having read it, I have to say.....I pictured the events unfolding in my head, and the vision of a toddler turning and looking at his mother like shes lost her mind, then within a nano-second, forgetting and going after a toy, made me chuckle a little.

Wish I had been that crafty when nursing DS2 while chasing after DS1. But I usually was running around the house with DS2 hanging from my chest. My hat goes off to the OPs friend. That was good quick-thinkin.

[prothyraia]

I think that was a brilliant thing to do.

It could only be considered "lazy" parenting if she has the ability to teleport and just didn't bother doing that instead.