What can I say, apart from a great big thank you obviously. The blogging and Internet community has done it again and come to my aid.
I have had some fantastic comments on my post about minimads temper issues and one thing I am sure of it that it will pass, all of your comments has made me sure of this. It seems that I am not alone in experiencing this and if others can get through it then so can I.
The comments were so good and insightful I felt that they deserved a post of their own, that way if anyone else is going though this, they can see them all.
I have been advised to stay icily calm by Some Mothers Do Ave Em and Pink Milk is Yummy agrees this is a good start, I am not sure I can manage icy, but I have been working on the calm. Cyrstal jigsaw confirms that this is a key point in dealing with her child too.
Emily at Babyrambles suggests a reward chart, as does Snafflesmummy and The ramblings of an everyday mummy, so I have decided to set down what behaviour will mean thatminimad gets more points and in our house points make more buying power at mummys shop.
Fraught Mummy finds that letting everyone know what is coming well in advance of it actually happening can be helpful. So there is a constant – in 10 minutes we are going to leave to go to nursery – in 5 minutes we are going to have to put our boots on. This is a tactic that Pink Milk is Yummy uses too.
Cathy at Nuturestore suggests having a chart detailing expectations in pictures.
So this is my action list:
- Set realistic expectations of Mini, clearly letting him know what I need and expect og him.
- Reinforce and reward good behaviour with points and attention
- Learn to recognise flash points and avoid them or distract mini (ie wellies, he hates wellies)
- Give timescales
- Give choices, not lots, just one or two
- See if I can find a physical outlet for his temper
- Be firm
- Be calm
- Be CONSISTANT
Some of the mummys with older children have been there and done that and just knowing that fantastic mum’s like Penny, Suzie, Amberlife and Pomona have all been through similar is something of a relief.
So thank you friends for all your insightful and helpful comments. Thank you for the support, for the hugs and for the camaraderie. Thank you for letting me know that I am not alone.
If all else fails there is always chocolate!
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