I have been having a very tough time with Cassie lately. She doesn't listen. She ignores me. She literally goes around the house looking for things that she knows that she is not supposed to do and then she does them. I don't know what to do about it. I have decided that it boils down to 1 thing. Respect. She does not respect things. She does not respect me. I find myself trying every method of punishment/discipline and not a single one is working, so I'm at a loss for what to do. I do not know how to teach her respect for things and people. She started a new Bible class today (I started BSF). She told me that all of the kids and all of the teachers laid down for quiet time and she just sat there looking at them all. She refused to lay down. How do I teach her this respect? I do not know. I haven't found a method that works for her. Spanking: No. Time-out: No. Losing things that are important to her: No. Losing TV: No. Grounding from going to friends' houses: Sometimes, but generally no. Paying me money: No. Paying me toys: No. Sitting on her bed doing nothing: No. I am just at a loss. SO, from this crying out mother to you, I beg for any and all suggestions. Please, no comments about how this is "just a phase." I might scream. Please don't tell me that she'll grow out of it, I might throw something. I want suggestions. I want to hear things that have worked for others. I want to wake up some morning in the not-so-distant future and realize that I have a respectful, obedient child and these problems are behind us (I'm not being a dreamer. I know that there will always be occurances where she'll need reminders...). I want to nip this in the bud before her brother starts catching on.
It is quite ironic, because in her BSF class this morning, their topic was "Who's the boss in your house?" Apparently, she didn't listen to them, either. The first thing she did when we left the classroom hallway was run away from me and refuse to come back. Apparently, the answer is: "NOT ME!"
So, please, leave your comments. If you come up with more suggestions, leave more comments. Thank you in advance for helping me regain the control that I never saw slip out of my fingers until it was too late.
4 comments:
In my opinion, it takes a strict discplinarian for a dad to make kids behave their mom. I know that when Laura can't get them to behave, a simple command from me will usually get them to jump into action.
But who knows.
I really don't have any new ideas. We did "nose to the wall" for timeouts for awhile. Basically Em had to stand in a corner with her nose to the wall. Once she stopped crying and screaming I would count to ten and she could come out. If she took her nose away, the counting started over. We haven't really had to use it lately though and I'm not sure counting is the thing to do... I'd probably prefer a timer. She was more interested in counting along with me than anything.
Have you looked for any children's books on respect? Sorry I'm not much help. If you find something that works - please share!
And I'm glad you're blogging again, even though I haven't been too much ;)
We use sassy spray(vinegar in a spray battle).
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