8.24.2009

Good Cop / Bad Cop

Our little one is leaving terrible 2's & entering the treacherous 3's. The past month has been very trying on all 3 of us. Where did my sweet little girl go?

Now I get to hear backtalking, defiance, and major attitude. I feel like the hubs and me are constantly having to bring out the "Bad Cop" & I hate being that person. For nap today I dragged the hubs inside from what he was doing to be the "Bad Cop". We have transitioned her crib into the toddler bed, but nap times seem to be horrible. We tell her she needs to stay in bed. If she gets out then we will be forced to put the front back on. Some might say she's getting too old for naps, but she definitely still needs them. Otherwise we are dealing with an even bigger bear the rest of the day. The worse part is when he does go to put the crib front back on she pleads for him not to, b/c she hates it so much. He says that he feels bad.

I feel that follow through is one of the best things we can do. We have to go through with whatever we say we are going to do, b/c she needs to realize we are boss, not her. I'm feeling at a loss for the right course of action to take with her. I'm finding that staying calm and just talking to her is working the best so far, but I still can't seem to get through to her!

Any suggestions?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

While I am not a parent, I did teach preschool for 7 years and taught 2-3yr olds for about 4 of the 7. The most important thing is consistency, which you already touched on by saying that follow through is important. If you do give her a consequence for an action (or non-action) be sure to follow up with it. This is generally just a great life lesson for all of us!

Good luck!

Dr.John said...

If your letting her know she is loved your doing fine. There just is no right answer. We raised three and they were all different. One was never terrible but was always sneaky. He pretended to nap. Would go right to bed. But if you went in ten minutes later he was playing on the floor.
The good news is they grow out of whatever stage there in.

Melissa said...

Thanks for checking out my site! I saw this and just had to let you know-- Its okay not to know what you are doing/what course to take. but as long as you take it one day at a time, you will do just fine. Good luck with nap times!