Training Kids?

I was listening to Dr. Phil today (which I very rarely watch, but he is interesting) and he made a statement that really made me think. Today's topic was on undisciplined children and mistakes that parents make. The one thing he said that really caught my attention was, "you are training up adults, you are not training up children." I had to think on this for a minute but then really began to see what he meant. If we raise our children as if we are training up kids, we will live in the moment based on how we are feeling now- frustrated, irritated, etc.- and let them develop bad habits. But if we remember that we are training them to become successful adults, we will make decisions based on the future, not how irritated we are at the moment. It is our responsibility to equip our children now with the qualities and skills that will make them successful when they become adults. I know it would be so much easier and less stress to always take the easy way out but after seeing some of the kids on the show (and a few that are around me!) I know it is not an option for me! While some parents think life is better by just giving in, not disciplining, letting their kids throw fits, etc. they will regret it later in life. Being undisciplined and unstructured teaches them to become disrespectful, selfish, out of control and just plain brats! As parents, we should work hard now to train our kids the ways that they should go and it will be less work and heartache when they are older. One great scripture for parents, especially of toddlers or preschoolers is Gal. 6:9- Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not. Keep up the good work, keep being a great parent! And remember that we are all working with you!

Potty Training

There are several out there that are potty training or getting ready to. So, I just wanted to tell what worked for us- both times! I say both times because we had to train Chloe twice. The first time she was 20 months old. She did a great job and she really wanted to do it. All I did was sit her on the toilet every hour and let her try. I also brought her into the bathroom with me when I went. Learning #1 was easy. But #2 was a little more difficult. We had bought her several pairs of big kid panties that she loved. What really did the trick for us was I made her throw away her favorite pair of panties when she went #2 in them. I really did not want to wash them! That worked! The potty training was done! I didn't have to bribe her or coerce her, she wanted to do it. The whole process took almost 3 days- which I did over a weekend. But when I took her to daycare the next day, I was told she couldn't use the bathroom there. They didn't have restrooms in the classroom until she was in the 2 year old room and she wasn't quite old enough for that room. So we had to put her in pull-ups. So that set us back a little. But then a few months later when she moved into the 2 year old room she had gotten use to her pull-ups and didn't want to go back to panties. It took us another 6 months before she was ready. Since Chloe barely ever gets candy, I thought getting a "potty treat" was a great reward. At first it was M&Ms but then she would pick out things like gummy bears and gummy worms. Whatever it takes, was my thought. She REALLY liked the idea of getting candy! At first she got a treat for using the toilet. But several times she would wet her pants some and then run to the toilet and finish going. It didn't seem right to reward her after partly wetting her pants. So, I put her on a timer and she was rewarded with one M&M if she was still dry when the buzzer went off and she got 2 M&Ms if she was dry AND used the toilet. She always wanted 2, so she tried really hard. She got gummy worms when she went #2 in the toilet. Fortunately, she only pooped in her pants once, and she was so devasted to throw her panties away that she didn't do it again! That's what worked for us! What worked for you?

Funny Mom

I know I am not the only Mom to have done this!!!!! The other day I was driving down the road with Chloe. We were having a great time in the car together- talking, singing, laughing. At the stop light, one of Chloe's favorite songs came on (One Way). So I turned up the volume and we sang as loud as we could, dancing around in our seats. I was so oblivious to what was going on around me that I didn't even notice the cars next to me laughing at us! I was slightly embarrassed but we were having too much fun to care!

Help Me!

Ok, I thought this was going to be a blog about things I've learned, but now I need help! We have run into an issue we are having difficulty fixing. Chloe has an obsession with taking her clothes off. It is not as simple as her running around in her panties. No! That would be too easy. The problem is that she takes off ALL her clothes and runs naked- completely naked- through the house. The moment she comes home from school, off they go. She wants to play with no clothes on, eat dinner with no clothes on, go to bed with no clothes on! I have tried everything and am now at a loss of what to do. Any ideas? Any thoughts? Anything you know of that has worked?