Tween Testing--male version

Sometimes, my tweens test me.

The male tween tested me on a testy day while we were all at soccer practice (all of us, mind you--4 kids and me for 1 1/2 hours of practice). He was asked to please carry a basket full of toys (mostly legos and dinosaur figurines) to the bleachers. We were there for his practice after all, and I had to keep the other 3 occupied during that practice.  

After an exhaustive "it's SO heavy" snide remark, he ended up walking an extra lap around the track, carrying the basket of toys.

His coach pulled me aside later and asked why #1 was walking around the track carrying a basket of toys when he was supposed to be on the field. I said, "he's learning that he's alot stronger than he thought he was."

You know, sometimes kids complain about things being "so heavy" or "so hard" when they just don't believe in themselves that they can do it. We as parents shouldn't always rush up to help them with the task, sometimes we have to let them accomplish it or even ask them to accomplish it + a little bit more. 

Then they can look at their achievement and be ready for the next task with a "can-do" attitude...hopefully. :)

Peanut Butter Time

I like to cook. I like to learn how to make new things. They don't always turn out great. When I fail, I'm the first one to say, "Let's just go out!" Thankfully, that doesn't happen too often anymore.

But I do have a rule of not saying ugly things about my cooking. Not when it turns out well!  So one night after sighs, turned up noses, and down right complaints by child #1, I had had enough.

For the next 7 days, he was offered a plain peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread (the healthy kind of peanut butter that you have to stir the oil back into), and a piece of fruit or a vegetable; for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The saying that went along went something like this, "There are some moms who just don't care about what their kids eat. I am not one of them. I hope you appreciate the good food that I make you, when you can eat it next week. I love you."

I'm not sure who learned more from this, #1 or his siblings...

One shoe at a time!

One day at Home Depot, I had all 4 kids with me. Matthew, #4, who was only 4 at the time, was pitching a very large fit in the store and taking off one of his flip flops and throwing it down towards me. This had been happening for a couple weeks. There had been warnings and stern talking-to's. Now it was time for action. So he threw that shoe for the last time in the garden department at Home Depot. I picked up the shoe he had thrown, walked over to the trash can, threw it in and then we left the store.

That was his only pair of shoes. (It was summer time, we had just moved across country, his feet had grown, I was simplifying...)

I told him that because he threw that shoe, he was stuck with only one shoe for the last week and a half of summer until preschool started. If he behaved, then he could earn a new PAIR of shoes.

That was how "One Shoe Parenting" got it's name.