Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tantrums
So, my sweet Gwendolyn has been sick this past weekend with the lovely stomach bug that's been going around. (And did I mention that Beau was out of town?) It was a LONG weekend... Because she was sick, I stayed home with her and babied her, etc. She finally started keeping food down around Monday, and Tuesday she seemed pretty much back to normal.
Now for the fun part. I took her back to daycare yesterday so I could go to work and Beau could go to class. This was definitely not what Gwen had planned for her day. She let us know in no uncertain terms that she was going to do what she wanted when she wanted. With LOTS of cajoling and after lots of tears, she finally made it to daycare. She was fine once she got there, but of course I felt guilty and stressed out about it all day. I ended up picking her up a little early to ease my guilt. When I got there, she was in the middle of singing time and did not want to leave ...of course.
This morning felt like deja vu. I tried to give Gwen extra time, this time expecting her mood. Finally I was able to get her dressed and she even let me fix her hair. As I'm trying to walk out the door with her, she throws herself down in the hallway and starts kicking her feet and screaming- a royal tantrum. So much for her cute hair. One of her shoes flies off and she is not about to go anywhere. I put everything in the car and told her that her dad would need to take her (I was already running late). As I started the car she came running to the door. We finally made it to daycare again with her sniffing the whole way. When we got in the classroom, the teachers could tell we had had a fun morning (hopefully they didn't think I had just beaten her, which is probably what it looked like with her puffy eyes and crazy hair)...I was all stressed out when I finally made it to work.
Here's my question for you- any suggestions? All of you with toddlers have probably had one of these fun experiences at one time or another. I try to give Gwen choices so she can feel in charge, but she is the queen of dawdling... And then of course, if it's not perfect, we are graced with her temper. Don't get me wrong- a lot of the time she is truly sweet. She is gentle with her baby dolls and the cat. She will snuggle with Beau and I (when she's in the mood). She's smart- she loves to learn and read books and dance. So how do I direct this independence? I've looked up a few things online and included them in case anyone else is in the same boat. I've also been told about a book called "The Strong Willed Child" from a Christian author. I may look into it. I know her energy can be directed for good (at least most of the time), so I'm working on it. Share any thoughts you'd like. :)
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