Look at this face!
It's a good thing he's cute... he needs something in his corner when I'm at my wits end! With his strong personality and demands, and my go-with-the-flow attitude, I fear he's grooming our relationship to get whatever he wants. When he doesn't want something, he hucks it. Milk too cold, it's gone. Not in the mood for dinner anymore, it's all over the floor. Tired of sitting in church for the 2 minutes we've been there, he gets loud... and stays loud until he gets what he wants! Take a look at this mouth.
You can imagine the noise it produces when looking like that. But he also is the most charming! It's so easy to get a laugh out of him. And really, all he wants is someone to play with. If I could stop everything and just get on the floor with him, he's happy.
He's only 17 months, but I pose a question... Is it too early to "discipline" a kid? Do I just ignore his demands, or is there a technique I'm missing? What kind of things do you do to help teach your babies what is allowed and what's not?
We LOVE our Gavin and think it's so fun to have this boy in our family! I think we're just in the "waiting it out" phase, and that's OK. Can't wait for those 2's trantrums! :)
9 comments:
Tyler is the exact same way! I was thinking it might be because he got so spoiled when he got burned, but it must just be the age. He is so strong willed and isn't afraid to let you know what's on his mind. Good luck! I hope this phase runs it's course quickly.
Love, love, love all the pictures! He looks SO much like Ben in the last one. Can't wait to see you guys again!
I forgot to add that we aren't really doing any kind of discipline yet. When he bites, he gets scolded and when he throws a huge tantrum and won't stop screaming, I put him in his crib and shut the door, but that's more for my sanity than it is to punish him. I think it's fine to start doing time out or some kind of discipline at this age, I'm just not ready to start that battle yet.
I think it depends on the kid as to when you start disciplining, and how much. Avery, who will be 3 in June, is starting to purposely ("defiantly" may be a better word) test her limits. She either completely ignores me when I ask her to do (or not do) something, or she looks right at me as she performs the very task she knows she's not supposed to. Crazy girl. As far as church, the one thing we do consistently with our kids from a young age is that when they are being loud in the chapel, we take them out to the foyer (or outside if they're too loud) and sit down with them on our lap (or stand and hold them if we're outside). They are not allowed to walk around or do anything but just sit there and be held. After a lot of trial and error (and unfortunately noise), my kids eventually learn that they have more freedom to do things in the chapel as long as they're reverent. And now that I have to man all four kids by myself that first hour, I'm grateful we stuck to our guns, even when it seemed hopeless. But again, every kid is different. We'll see how well Lindy responds when she gets older... Is this long enough? Sheesh. And just in case you think I'm confident in our methods for disciplining our children, we still don't have a clue on the best way to get through to our four year old. He is by far the hardest one to figure out. So... good luck.
Notice that in the last picture he is peeling and eating an orange all by himself - he devoured the orange with no assistance from us.
He sounds a lot like Porter. I've read that at this age, you re-direct and re-direct over and over again. Porter climbs. The table, the chairs. So we say no and re-direct. It's very frustrating. One day Bart actually did put him in his crib for "time out." It was pretty hilarious to listen to Bart "discipline" a 1 year old.
It must be something to do with Gavins! Mine is a total terror!
I honestly think it's a "boy" thing. Wes is so different then Izzy. By the time she was two, she could be reasoned with, with Wes it's like he's in a tunnel and can only focus on one thing, what HE wants. I'm not so good at dealing with it. I usual just ignore him until he stops screaming at me. The really unfair thing is that little boys are so dang cute and there is no way you can be mad at them when they smile at you and hug you. Gavin seems like he knows how to get what he wants.
Anyway, we are finished with this fellowship in July and then who knows. Justin has a few interviews lined up. One in Augusta, GA and one in San Antonio. If he ends up flying out, he'll have to look you up. What are y'all planning on doing?
such a cutie! Madeiine Flinders has a Gavin that is a handful too! You are so beautiful! It is so fun to hear about your family from your parents now and again when we go to visit.
He makes awesome faces! I love the wide open mouth one. Sounds like you got your hands full. Boys - what can I say?
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