When I picked her up at daycare yesterday, I was attempting to get her in the car. She WOULD NOT SIT. We went back and forth with me asking nicely, asking firmly, asking firmly, and threatening that she would not be allowed to watch Dora...in that time the daycare closed and the teachers went home and here I was, still arguing with her to please sit down in her car seat!
Eventually she leapt out of the car and I barely caught her...and she took off running, laughing, yelling "Can't catch me! Can't catch me!"
Here's where all that running I've been doing lately came in handy. :) I chased her, caught her, put her in the car, she squirmed out again and we repeated. A lot. (Had this been a busy parking lot, I would have been more diligent but it's a VERY small daycare with a very small parking lot, and it was closed. So no traffic.)
After awhile of "Can't catch meeeee!" and "This is fun!" and "I love running!" she plopped down on the grass. We had the following conversation:
Me: "Angelica, can you please get in the car now?"
Angelica: "No. I sitting on the grass!"
Me: "Please get in the car."
Angelica: "No! I NOT get in the car."
Me: "Well then, no watching Dora when we get home."
Angelica: "No, I don't WANNA watch Dora!"
Me: "Okay then. If you don't, I'm going to tell Daddy you're misbehaving."
Angelica: "NO. YOU not tell Daddy."
Me: "Then get in the car."
Angelica: "No! I not going to get in the car, ANYMORE."
::phone rings:: (Perfect timing!)
Me: "Gellie, Daddy is calling and if you don't get in the car, I'm going to answer and tell him you're misbehaving!"
"Nooooooo!" ::jumps up:: "I gots to climb in the car!"
(She then climbs in the car.)
Me: "Ok, Angelica, sit on your butt."
Angelica: "I NO sit on my butt, ANYMORE."
Me: "Oh, you're never going to sit on your butt ever again? Then what are you going to sit on?"
Angelica: ::blank stare, sits down::
Me: (I buckle her in) "Thanks for sitting down."
Angelica: "Sorry Mommy..."
Lucky for her she has a patient mommy who doesn't back down. Unluckily for me, if this is any indication of how she'll be as a teenager...well...we'll cross that bridge in another 11 years...
4 comments:
Girl! I've been there. That happened to me one time and only once. Here's what I did. When Cam refused to sit in her car seat I told her she had two options 1). She could sit on her own 2). I would force her to sit in her car seat. Well, she chose option number 2, so I forced her in it. I mean, I man handled her (without hurting her) into that seat and buckled her down, while she kicked and flailed the entire time. She realized at that point that I wasn't messing around and that she might as well sit on her own because having 120 lbs of mommy working against you isn't any fun. We never had another issue.
I've also been told that if you turn it in to a game, say pick her up and hold her upside down and say "Let's see, is this the right way? Nope, you don't fit that way. Let's try sideways..." The kids get to laughing and forget that they were being defiant and then you can buckle them.
Who's got the handbook to this parenting thing anyway? LOL
Oh how funny!! I've been blessed with a child who is ridiculously strong though, she can even fight off her Daddy, so I'm SURE that will at least come in handy someday!
I love the idea of making it a game...I never even thought of that!
I would have been totally stressed out and definitely would have taken Carol's route you have a ton of patience!
Wow. I thought I had it rough. Luckily I haven't experienced defiance to that extreme (yet). Usually if Rylie isn't doing something I want her to I will just tell her that she has three seconds to do it or I will do it for her, and that she doesn't want me to have to do it. I get to two and whatever I want her to do is done. It sounds so cliche, I know, but it works. At least for us.
Good luck with that little red-headed spit fire! :-) And I know what you mean about them being strong...her buddy Rylie is pretty strong too.
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