using words

I understand that as children approach their terrible twos they will push limits and test boundaries. What I wasn't expecting was my the screaming.

It was about an hour before my husband and I wanted to wake up when my son decide bed time was over.  He asked for his favorite DVD and we told him he would have to wait for daddy to get dressed for the day.  He cried, and I said, "No, crying will not make anything go faster."  He didn't just scream, because I didn't cave.  He fussed until the act of fussing made him violently ill.  I still did not bend.  I held him and hugged him, and told him he needed to use his words.  Finally he calmed down, looked up at me and asked for milk.  Ok. Since you used your words, you may have milk.

Now you might be asking why the drama? Why did we give ourselves this headache? What's wrong with letting the boy watch a DVD while the parents sleep?

Well to start with, I'm not afraid of my son and his ability to cry.  Second, I don't want to encourage this nonsense.  Babies cry for what they need, my son was crying for what he wanted.  Big difference.  No one has ever been harmed by lack of time in front of the television.  We are going to have to live with the way we raise him, so I need to make it clear who is in charge.

Now I would mention that unless you count not doing what my son wants as quickly as he wanted it as a form of punishment, we didn't punish him.  I just didn't start giving him what he wanted until he calmed down enough to use his words and ask for it properly.

I know future me will be glad I did this, but the me of right now just wants a tall glass of water, something to make the headache go away, and maybe a nap.