Lordisa. I feel like I never learn. Or, I think I learn, and then a few months later I'm back at square one.
My almost 3 year old is tormenting the animals. Again. It was a non-issue for awhile, but right now we are caring for two cats, and she is bothering them and the old dog.
Gawd. It drives me freaking nuts!!!! I swear to god, I feel so enraged sometimes. It just seems to me that she is doing it deliberately. I've tried talking about it with her over and over again, but it goes in one ear and out the other. Five minutes later she is pestering them again.
Today I put her on time out. It was an act of desperation, I was exhausted from lack of sleep, and I'm ill (my stomach is messed up), and I'm stressed about other things, and I really felt like I was on the edge, man. On the edge.
She cried the whole time.
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I don't know what to do. Again. I don't want to be a martyr, I don't want this kid to rule the house, to hurt other beings and possibly get hurt herself. The cats scratch when she hugs them too hard, which has curtailed that, but she has taken to picking one up by the neck, and it doesn't defend itself, and it is clear that it is in distress. And the dog I can't take chances with - she is ten years old and I wouldn't put it past her to bite if she gets bothered sufficiently, which I think is entirely reasonable for an old dog.
I hate being this angry with my child. I need to figure something out!
My almost 3 year old is tormenting the animals. Again. It was a non-issue for awhile, but right now we are caring for two cats, and she is bothering them and the old dog.
Gawd. It drives me freaking nuts!!!! I swear to god, I feel so enraged sometimes. It just seems to me that she is doing it deliberately. I've tried talking about it with her over and over again, but it goes in one ear and out the other. Five minutes later she is pestering them again.
Today I put her on time out. It was an act of desperation, I was exhausted from lack of sleep, and I'm ill (my stomach is messed up), and I'm stressed about other things, and I really felt like I was on the edge, man. On the edge.
She cried the whole time.
:I don't know what to do. Again. I don't want to be a martyr, I don't want this kid to rule the house, to hurt other beings and possibly get hurt herself. The cats scratch when she hugs them too hard, which has curtailed that, but she has taken to picking one up by the neck, and it doesn't defend itself, and it is clear that it is in distress. And the dog I can't take chances with - she is ten years old and I wouldn't put it past her to bite if she gets bothered sufficiently, which I think is entirely reasonable for an old dog.
I hate being this angry with my child. I need to figure something out!
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