Argh, what a day! Work didn't go well, Little Sprout is being a total pain, and I have about 2 million things to accomplish before we do the first Seasonal Celebration on Sunday.
All I wanna do is crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head for about a week.
On top of it all, Big Sprout is really pushing her luck these days. Her attitude stinks, she seems to be completely incapable of completing even the simplest task, and now she went and lost her lunch money for school! Serves her right if I can't get things straightened out before it is time for her to eat and she ends up with nothing but a PB sandwich.
So Mr. Barefoot and I are going to start playing hard ball with her. Zero tolerance, man, that is our new plan. I hate to do it, she is my little angel. But when your angel starts acting more like a devil and refuses to change with "normal" intervention you gotta do something.
The lists are coming out. Lists of what must be accomplished before she goes to school, after school, and before bed. Expectations are being outlined, and there will be consequences for not following through.
The kicker? I am bringing out the dreaded "worksheets". Back when we were having trouble with the teens, Sarge gave me a whole pile of worksheets that she used when she worked at the juvenile corrections facility. It is all stuff designed to make kids think about their actions and the consequences for those actions. It is a lot of work, but kids hate it and it actually seemed to make a difference with the teens.
Anyway, gotta go....so much to do and so little time!
2 comments:
Good luck with Big Sprout Barefoot. Call it "tough love" or whatever, but I wish more parents had the time and/or energy to teach their kids the lessons about responsibility and consequences. From what I've seen (especially in our family) it's easier to just let the kids do what they want and try to pick up the pieces later. (And that's why my sister had to go down to the police station at 5:00 in the morning to pick up her 22 Y/O daughter who was arrested for DUI!)
You go girl! I agree with RuthieJ. It takes time and energy to do what you are, but it is the RIGHT thing to do and someday Big Sprout will understand this!
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