This is what I actually said to my six year old son yesterday.\u00a0 It’s true.\u00a0 I never thought those words would come out of my mouth, but, I haven’t been able to stop saying things like this for the last two or three weeks..\u00a0 He is driving me crazy – he knows it and he is loving every minute of it.\u00a0What the f*!# do I do?<\/p>\n
I spent a good two hours on the phone with one of my closest friends a couple of nights ago.\u00a0 She doesn’t have a six year old yet, but she has three kids and I value her opinion and respect her capacity to keep cool with three kids all under the age of five.\u00a0 I get exhausted just watching her.\u00a0But, she has utter control over those babies.\u00a0 Complete.\u00a0 Meanwhile, my son is pulling my daughter’s pants down and hitting her in the head (he calls this love tapping) with a plastic butterfly net and my voice seems like nothing but white noise to him (I probably just sound like a fly in his ear at this point)… Most of the time he is golden.\u00a0 But there is always a large chunk of our day that requires huge discipline.\u00a0 He doesn’t respond to anything other than physical discipline during those times.\u00a0 No, I don’t mean I hit or spank him – what I mean is that if, for example,\u00a0I am telling him to “stop” spinning in the chair that (after two times of stating verbally that I need him to quit) I have to go over and physically take him off the chair and remove him from the situation.\u00a0 This was the same thing I had to do when he was 3(!) and I just don’t feel like I should have to do it with a six year old.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anyway, I am trying out some new books and think that I need to have a consistant system to my discipline with him.\u00a0 I need something that works for a 6year old – something that will help him understand he is in control of himself (and only himself – that is another issue: he seems to think his sister is his toy or possession) and something to help him realize that he is at his best (and having more fun) when he is listening and working well with others.\u00a0<\/p>\n