Yesterday was a particularly challenging day. My 2-year-old was acting like... a two year old. Thus far, the hardest part of parenting for me has been the follow-through with punishments. I'm not talking about the actual following-though part, but the emotional/mental distress it causes me to HAVE to follow through. I've found, however, that it's important to follow through and then follow up... even at bedtime. Only then can Toddler Boy and I both go to bed happy. My son is too much like me in some ways. He. Can't. Let. Things. Go. Last night, I gave him an ultimatum: "You help me clean up, or you go to bed without a song." (He already lost the privilege of having a bedtime book read.) Then, after refusing to help me pick up his legos and then taking the bag and dumping them all out again, I had had enough. I tucked him under my arm and marched up to his room. His cries of "I want to 'hep' Mommy" were stuck on repeat. I said little while...
Navigating life one adventure, one goal, one idea at a time. And probably messing up along the way. But that's okay. I'm a beginner.