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conuly
Seth's been *finally* starting to learn not to scream.
Well.
Strike that.
That might take a while.
But he's learning that screaming doesn't do him any good, and that he still has to sleep/not steal/not pull hair/pick up what he dropped regardless. That's useful, and a vital precursor to learning not to scream.
Two things about his forays into the world of good behaviour:
1. He's not too clever about the screaming yet. Yesterday, he was standing at the table eating raspberries when he picked up a box and just tossed it on the floor. On the theory that 16 months is past old enough not to do that anymore, I put him down and told him to pick up the box. He knows what "pick up" means, and he understands what it means when you point to something. But he didn't want to do this. And he screamed.
Now, if he hadn't screamed, I'd've let it go. It's just not that big a deal. But I'm a stubborn little snot, and I'm sick of picking up stuff he thought was funny to drop. So there's twenty minutes of my life, gone, because I kept shoving the box towards him as he moved, flopped on the floor, kicked and screamed, then moved again. Anyway, he finally did pick up the box. No fight when I made him pick up the paper he dropped (on purpose) or the raspberry he dropped (by accident).
2. Man, this kid is too smart for his own good. He's been not just screaming to get his way, but pulling hair. And today he pulled Ana's hair. So I moved him into the bedroom and told him not to do that, because "if you want to pull hair, you should pull your own hair".
I didn't think he'd understand all that.
But he did.
And he pulled his hair.
And then had the nerve to get mad at me because ACK! MY HAIR GOT PULLED! IT HURT!
*giggles*
Well.
Strike that.
That might take a while.
But he's learning that screaming doesn't do him any good, and that he still has to sleep/not steal/not pull hair/pick up what he dropped regardless. That's useful, and a vital precursor to learning not to scream.
Two things about his forays into the world of good behaviour:
1. He's not too clever about the screaming yet. Yesterday, he was standing at the table eating raspberries when he picked up a box and just tossed it on the floor. On the theory that 16 months is past old enough not to do that anymore, I put him down and told him to pick up the box. He knows what "pick up" means, and he understands what it means when you point to something. But he didn't want to do this. And he screamed.
Now, if he hadn't screamed, I'd've let it go. It's just not that big a deal. But I'm a stubborn little snot, and I'm sick of picking up stuff he thought was funny to drop. So there's twenty minutes of my life, gone, because I kept shoving the box towards him as he moved, flopped on the floor, kicked and screamed, then moved again. Anyway, he finally did pick up the box. No fight when I made him pick up the paper he dropped (on purpose) or the raspberry he dropped (by accident).
2. Man, this kid is too smart for his own good. He's been not just screaming to get his way, but pulling hair. And today he pulled Ana's hair. So I moved him into the bedroom and told him not to do that, because "if you want to pull hair, you should pull your own hair".
I didn't think he'd understand all that.
But he did.
And he pulled his hair.
And then had the nerve to get mad at me because ACK! MY HAIR GOT PULLED! IT HURT!
*giggles*
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oh Mommy !
Date: 2004-09-22 03:27 pm (UTC)Re: oh Mommy !
Date: 2004-09-22 03:30 pm (UTC)Besides, this isn't tough love. Tough love is when you hold him down for an hour because he wants to stand on his bed when he needs to sleep, and refuses to stop screaming because you said he can only sit or lie down, not stand.
My ears are STILL hurting.
It wouldn't be so bad, except that Lizziey hates to hear him scream and used to give in quite often - usually after letting him scream for a while (at least, that's what it seems like mihi). So now he has a lot to unlearn.
Re: oh Mommy !
Date: 2004-09-22 03:32 pm (UTC)*giggles*
My mom was over here the other day watching them, and Ana tried screaming, so 'dul said "you know what'll happen if you keep screaming". And she stopped.
So my mom asked, "I'm curious. What'd happen if she kept screaming?"
"I'd make her sit down."
*grins*
Simple. No smacks, or yelling, or anything. Just "I'll make her sit down".