Time-Out!

Liz and I often talk to our clients and write in our blog the importance of moms taking care of themselves, making time for just you, celebrating you as a woman and a mother.  These are all very important and ways that we, as moms, can continue being the best we can be for our families.

So what happens when your beautiful two-year-old daughter has meltdown after meltdown, tantrum after tantrum and someone in the exchange, either mommy or daughter, desperately needs a time-out?  I have been finding for the last few weeks, that I am that person that needs the time-out most!  I am a “seasoned” parent, I should know how to handle these types of things, right?!?!?  The short answer is, nope!

Today was particularly challenging with my independent, strong-willed little lady, and I felt myself getting to that point of boiling over.  My sons were also there, and are pretty oblivious to her crying and tantruming, the main reaction they have is turning the television volume up so they can hear whatever show they are watching over her screams.  I’m not even going to bore you with the reasons that sent her over the edge, as they are the most mundane (to me anyway) things of everyday life you could imagine.  I am going to tell you that after multiple attempts at ignoring the behavior, placing her in time-out, asking her to tell or show me what she wanted, she continued to rage on.  So I decided, I was putting myself in time-out, literally.

I went to our family’s time-out spot, sat down on the floor and did not speak to anyone (even my sons who were hysterical that I actually did this).  I sat in time-out to calm myself down, as I was just about at my wits end.  I sat there for about five minutes, with my eyes closed and deeply breathing for about three of them.   The irony of this situation is, that when my daughter saw that mommy was in time-out, she stopped her ranting and raving and just stared at me.

 

When I removed myself from time-out, I felt much more calm and able to deal with the situation at hand.  This is the first time in six and a half years that I have done such a thing, and it worked!  She immediately came over to me and gave me a hug and said in her way – sorry mommy. 

I have realized from this day that I could have eight kids and continue to learn and find new strategies to deal with the different personalities all kids have.  There is no one-way or no right-way, and sometimes it takes a mommy or daddy time-out to learn what THE-way in the present situation is.

Sincerely,

From the Stork’s Nest~

Rebecca