8.07.2008

Light Bulb Moment

Light bulb moment....you know when the light bulb in your head comes on and you think of a solution to a problem that seems so stinkin' simple that you can't quite grasp how you didn't think of it before??? Surely i'm not the only one who has these moments right?? Actually i have a little secret....i probably have these moments more than most people and i'm ok with it. Atleast i think i am....i tend to learn the hard way and be way too stubborn to listen to simple solutions. So light bulb moments are a great thing for me......almost exciting....yeah i'm weird. But weird in a good way......atleast thats what i tell myself. ANYWAY....on with the show.... here is one of my recent light bulb moments.

On most days i am amazed at how well my lil monkey's get along. There is a 4 year age difference and i really never dreamed that they would play together as well as they do most of the time. I also never dreamed you could go from being the best of friends to not getting along in a split second! And some of the things they end up bickering about are absurd to me!

So John is out of town this week and really the week has gone very well. But there are those times when i just get a little overwhelmed and when the boys start their little arguments it just for whatever reason really pushes my buttons. Patience is a daily struggle for me. D.A.I.L.Y. I have learned to take a deep breath before reacting to situations so that i don't over react. There has been ALOT of deep breaths this week and one day in particular when the boys seemingly woke up not getting along i got this brilliant idea.....

That's right....i made them sit at the end of the hallway facing each other. It started with Colby complaining that it wasn't fair and Brayden crying. Soon followed by silence and then came the giggling. And the silly talk. But most importantly the getting along. So i let them get up and they got along so much better the rest of the day! Why hadn't i thought of this sooner??? It actually worked and i'm all for any type of discipline that doesn't include me raising my voice or spanking and actually works! So, while i still struggle with patience and i still have my moments when i lose that struggle i am so happy to have another method of discipline that for now seems to be very effective!

What are some effective methods of discipline that have worked for you?? I am all for learning from other parents and would love to hear what works in your homes and families so chime in with your two cents on discipline!

4 comments:

a boy a girl and a pug said...

I love it...that is brilliant and I bet a blast to listen in on :-)

tondays said...

love it! i like you love anything that is different & will make them think about it.

mine were a little older when I did this: it had been a hard day for all of us & it was another battle between them & I think some hitting or pushing or something of the sort - I like you needed to pull something different out of a hat. So, I made them write a sentence 50 (maybe 100 times) - I believe it was "I will not hit." or whatever the offense had been - it worked. I did not even have to ask them to apologize to each other - they actually got the point. (I wish I could say it worked for life, but oh well - it was good punishment at the time.)

Scrapper Mom said...

That was a brilliant idea. Wish it would work for my two...they do NOT get along, and the bickering is a constant battle here. Let's see..you would think with one being (almost) 18 and one 10 it would be so different, but it's not. If I were to put them together like that, they would KILL each other. How would I then handle that????

Lainey-Paney said...

OMG! Look at that!!!