Our Child Strong-Willed? No way!

There I said it!  Our kids are strong-willed!  Hmmm...Wonder wherever they could get that from? :) Pshhh!  Do you know their parents at all?

Cole is very independent.  He chooses what he wants to and doesn't want to hear.   He pushes the limits.  If you tell him not to do something, that something will attract him like a magnet and suck him right into doing it.  He talks...a LOT.  He gets an attitude and talks back.  Sound familiar?

And then there's Hunter.  He has always had the worst temper.  He does not give up.  We attempted the cry-it-out method when he was about 10 months old one night.  After three hours of him screaming and us thinking that he's got to give in and fall asleep eventually (yes!  We did go in and rub his back and cover him up, we didn't neglect him completely), he never did.  When he gets mad he screams, stomps and jumps up and down with his fists clenched.  He will throw anything within reaching distance, knock over chairs.  Sound familiar?

Blake has decided talking is not so cool.  He screams this high-pitched girly scream when he wants something or just walks around whining "Mom, mOm, mamam,MOM!"  He has recently added puppy to his vocabulary.

Sounds horrible, right?  And it is.  Although, it is not a constant thing, but definitely something that needs to be addressed!  I've done the Love and Logic stuff.  It's great.  It works pretty well.  I've read James Dobson books.  I like his style!  I read Bringing Up Boys and The Strong-Willed Child.  Ok.  Let me re phrase this.  I started those two books.  It had some amazing information and really good ideas.  Then life happened and I never got them done before they were due at the library.

Beau and I both find ourselves at our breaking point more often than we would like.  I think sometimes I don't want to admit, I am not doing the best I can as a parent.  I mean, come on.  It's what I do for a living.  I work with kids and families helping them with strategies to make their lives easier.  If I can't control my kids, what right do I have to help others.  Oh right.  They aren't my kids :)  I loose my patience entirely too much.  I am sure I use more negative reinforcement than positive reinforcement.  Why you ask?  I'm not sure.  It's easier.  It's less time consuming.  Something.  I know what I "should" do.  But what I should do and what I actually do is not always the same.

Once again, I am making it sound like our house is one of those ones on Nanny 911, where the kids are swearing and hitting their parents, they are climbing the walls and completely out of control.  While yes, some moments are like that, most are not.

I just downloaded a James Dobson book on my Kindle of strategies of parenting a strong-willed child.  Not only does it talk about the child, but you as a parent.  It is supposed to help you deal with your emotions, patience, anger, etc.  So, we will see how it goes :)

...stay tuned for more in the weeks to come!  Must go.  The boys have all the couch cushions on the floor and Cole and Hunter are fighting about who is building it wrong and now Hunter is screaming because Blake ripped his Superhero cape off him!