I'm glad you are proud of your reaction.
I'm so Proud~And, Thanks!!!
4
Hi Ladies <& Gents!>,
I'm a 'newbie' here, but have lurked for quite a while before actually registering with Mothering about a month ago...
Anyway...I'm always reading, reading, reading this gd forum and have gotten some GREAT ideas on how to 'handle' this three year old of mine
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, and I just wanted to share an experience with you guys where I was *rather* proud of myself when handling it...Props to U mamas!
Ok...so, I'm cooking dinner. DS wants to help with the macaroni, so I set him up at the table with the mac box and a pair of utility scissors. I'm working over at the stove area, and he cuts his finger while opening the box of mc&cheese. Of course, he wants a band-aid, and the only ones I know of are in the trunk of the car, there are 5 different food items *needing* my attention at the time, and the finger was *not* that bad--like a paper cut. So--I tell ds that we don't have any band-aids in the house, why doesn't he go run it under some cold water in the bathroom? So, off he goes...to the sink...
He comes back, continues his macaroni efforts, finishes 'helping' me with dinner, and we all sit down to eat...Ahhhh...
So, I'm cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, and ds is still eating when dh calls out 'OH MY GOD!~MOMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!' I take off RUNNING to the bathroom where I find not one, not two, but literally THREE INCHES OF RUNNING WATER in my bathroom floor...Ds had left the water running, with the sink plugged up.
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I just stand there for a moment...and this overwhelming urge to BEAT SOMEONE comes over me, and I just look at dh like, 'what do I do???' He calls for ds to come in the bathroom, and ds says, 'OH MY GOD?!!?! WHAT HAPPENED?!?!'~At that moment, I *knew* he didn't do this 'on purpose' and even if he did, he had NO idea leaving the water running would cause this! <we had just had the discussion about the little holes in the top of the sink last week!
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>
So...we talked to ds, told him we ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT leave the water running, and the plugger is now OFF LIMITS for him. He helped get towels out of the closet, put them all over the floor <there were TWELVE TOWELS TOTAL!> and got the little hand towels & cleaned the countertops <double sink'd vanity was COVERED> & then went & got an empty laundry basket & put all the towels in there to get ready for the wash.
I was just *SO PROUD* of myself, my dh, and my ds for all doing the *RESPONSIBLE* thing, and taking care of the problem TOGETHER. I just know that if that would have been me as a three year old, I would have been beaten...NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. I'm so happy my dh & I have decided to *STOP* that cycle of abuse, and I'm *SO* happy my ds is reaping the benefits! Do you know that I did not *one time* raise my voice at him while all this is going on? I did not *one time* have to tell him the next thing to do in order to get this mess cleaned up. He knew that this mess was his fault, and it was his responsibility to get it cleaned up...and he did it without *one single* word of dissappointment <except in hisself...he was *really* sorry about everything & told dh and I very quickly that this was an accident & he didn't mean to do 'all this'!
I'm just so pleased with how well these gd techniques have affected not only my child, but also my family...That night, after all the chaos was over, and we were settling in for the evening, I had the greatest sense of accomplishment in being a parent...and, I couldn't have done it without YOU MAMAS!!!
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Thank you all SO MUCH for all the wonderful information you provide. It really is out there being used!!!
(((HUGS)))
I'm a 'newbie' here, but have lurked for quite a while before actually registering with Mothering about a month ago...
Anyway...I'm always reading, reading, reading this gd forum and have gotten some GREAT ideas on how to 'handle' this three year old of mine
Ok...so, I'm cooking dinner. DS wants to help with the macaroni, so I set him up at the table with the mac box and a pair of utility scissors. I'm working over at the stove area, and he cuts his finger while opening the box of mc&cheese. Of course, he wants a band-aid, and the only ones I know of are in the trunk of the car, there are 5 different food items *needing* my attention at the time, and the finger was *not* that bad--like a paper cut. So--I tell ds that we don't have any band-aids in the house, why doesn't he go run it under some cold water in the bathroom? So, off he goes...to the sink...
He comes back, continues his macaroni efforts, finishes 'helping' me with dinner, and we all sit down to eat...Ahhhh...
So, I'm cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, and ds is still eating when dh calls out 'OH MY GOD!~MOMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!' I take off RUNNING to the bathroom where I find not one, not two, but literally THREE INCHES OF RUNNING WATER in my bathroom floor...Ds had left the water running, with the sink plugged up.
I just stand there for a moment...and this overwhelming urge to BEAT SOMEONE comes over me, and I just look at dh like, 'what do I do???' He calls for ds to come in the bathroom, and ds says, 'OH MY GOD?!!?! WHAT HAPPENED?!?!'~At that moment, I *knew* he didn't do this 'on purpose' and even if he did, he had NO idea leaving the water running would cause this! <we had just had the discussion about the little holes in the top of the sink last week!
So...we talked to ds, told him we ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT leave the water running, and the plugger is now OFF LIMITS for him. He helped get towels out of the closet, put them all over the floor <there were TWELVE TOWELS TOTAL!> and got the little hand towels & cleaned the countertops <double sink'd vanity was COVERED> & then went & got an empty laundry basket & put all the towels in there to get ready for the wash.
I was just *SO PROUD* of myself, my dh, and my ds for all doing the *RESPONSIBLE* thing, and taking care of the problem TOGETHER. I just know that if that would have been me as a three year old, I would have been beaten...NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. I'm so happy my dh & I have decided to *STOP* that cycle of abuse, and I'm *SO* happy my ds is reaping the benefits! Do you know that I did not *one time* raise my voice at him while all this is going on? I did not *one time* have to tell him the next thing to do in order to get this mess cleaned up. He knew that this mess was his fault, and it was his responsibility to get it cleaned up...and he did it without *one single* word of dissappointment <except in hisself...he was *really* sorry about everything & told dh and I very quickly that this was an accident & he didn't mean to do 'all this'!
I'm just so pleased with how well these gd techniques have affected not only my child, but also my family...That night, after all the chaos was over, and we were settling in for the evening, I had the greatest sense of accomplishment in being a parent...and, I couldn't have done it without YOU MAMAS!!!
Thank you all SO MUCH for all the wonderful information you provide. It really is out there being used!!!
(((HUGS)))
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I'm glad you are proud of your reaction.
That was so encouraging to read! Your son is so lucky to have a patient mama.
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for handling it so awesomely!
2
It's so wonderful to hear positive posts like this. Congratulations, mama!
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(and did you tell your son afterwards how proud you were of him, and how he handled it so well?
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(and did you tell your son afterwards how proud you were of him, and how he handled it so well?
2
Wonderful! Right on! Congrats! YOU ROCK!
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Your post made me cry. You are inspiring.
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Well done.
Your post made me cry. You are inspiring.
Well done.
4
It's just so crazy that there are so few places <people> I can go to & tell something like this and actually be CONGRATULATED! I was telling a lady at work about this <she's got teens, now> and she was like, 'yeah, if that would've been one of my boys, they would have had their a**es beat!
Ahhh...I'm just happy that I can come here, and get a decent response from you mamas!
Piglet...I *did* tell him how proud of him I was--basically the entire time he was cleaning up the bathroom, I was praising him for his efforts, telling him what a great job he was doing, etc. It just amazes me what we ALL would be 'missing' if we didn't implement this gd in our home. I mean, I lived in *fear* as a child, and was *never* praised for my efforts when I *did* mess up. Its so nice that even 'bad' situations don't have to be so...scary, I guess?? It's really a liberating experience to know that WHATEVER happens, there will be happiness in the end...and, Braden learns SO MUCH from his mistakes when they are handled this way...he's been wanting to mop the freakin' bathroom floor EVERYDAY since this happened...lmao!
Alex...we learned about the plugger when we had the conversation about the sink holes...After thinking about everything, I think he was actually 'trying out' his new found ability to plug the sink up, fully relying on those little sink holes to drain the water out!! I *still* can't figure out WHY the sink holes didn't drain??? I dunno, but it was like Niagra Falls, coming off that countertop!! Thanks for the suggestion, tho! That's what I love about this place...I can always get further suggestions on situations & figure out how to handle situations *even better* the next time they pop up!
Indi, Goat & Luna,
Thank you all for your support! It really helps to know there are other parents out there practicing gd right along with me! We're raising some AWESOME kids, ya'll!!
(((HUGS))) to all!!
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