Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Frustrated much?

I am frustrated with Margot right now. I know all kids go through developmental stages and these stages are good, because they are growing and learning. But we have suddenly entered the "NO!" phase, that is just about to send me over the edge. Margot says "NO" to pretty much everything you ask her at this point. "Do you want to put on your shoes?" No. "Do you want to go upstairs?" No. "Do you want a fairy to come down and build a playroom for your ridiculous amount of crap?" No. And she often will YELL this retort at you, which is a special treat.

The other thing she has recently started doing again is putting everything in her mouth. Food that fell on the floor? Check. A gob of dijon mustard left on the counter from my salad? Check. What the hell kind of kid eats a fistful of Grey Poupon straight? And then just to mess with me, she acts like she loves it and asks for more. Ugh.

We do the right thing and tell her EVERY TIME that it is rude to yell at people, and Mommy and Daddy don't yell at you, it can be dangerous to eat things off the ground, blah blah blah. I am sick of hearing myself.

Sometimes I wonder what she would do if I followed her around, grabbing everything she tries to touch and put it in my mouth while simultaneously screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOOO at her face. Has anyone tried this approach? :)

6 comments:

The Clarks said...

Wow ~ so much to look forward to! I do like your new take on parenting though . . . let me know how the "right back at you" strategy works out because it sounds like something I would be willing to try if nothing else was working ;)

kalurah said...

I pull a "Bugs Bunny" on the kids.
when they tell me "no", it goes something like this.
go clean your room.
no.
yes.
no.
yes.
no.
no.
yes.
no.
yes.
okay, yes, you will go clean your room!
if nothing else, it creates a giggle fit in them, which is better than the kicking and screaming that accompanies their "no"'s.

Sara and Jonas said...

Wow. I think you officially have a two-year old on your hands:) Have you tried reverse psychology?

carrie said...

Ohhhh, those constant "no's" are so hard! Like Kalurah, I often try to make a game of it -- like acting completely fall-down-on-the-floor shocked that she doesn't want to do whatever it is, or going back and forth with the no and yes like Kalurah said she does. If I can get her laughing, I can usually get her to do whatever it is. Distraction works WONDERS, too. :) Of course, those lovely tools don't always work - the rest of the time we end up with a tantrum!

Millie started putting things in her mouth again awhile ago too. Luckily that seems to be ebbing, but the other day I caught her putting a raisin up her nose! Ah, the joys of toddlerhood. ;)

Hang in there, Mama!

Lauren said...

A raisin up the nose? I love it!

I am so grateful for the advice from all of you! And the stories!

stacy said...

Cecily used to eat butter. Yep grab a thing of butter out of the frig and dig in. Grandma used to gag lol GROSS

Just a phase... remember those three crazy words!