The skeptic in me says it’s too good to be true. Last night, before stories and bed, I reminded the J-man about today’s new morning routine. A few of you asked me what the new morning routine is, so here it is, in a nutshell:
- Get Up
- Put on "sticker" (patch – his medicine is now contained in a patch delivery system rather than a pill/capsule)
- No Milk Before Breakfast (this is a change and we expected this to be the first fight today, because he customarily had a cup of milk waiting for him in the fridge first thing in the morning)
- Pick Out Clothes
- Get Dressed
- Use the Bathroom (he’s the one who insisted that this had to be in this order, even though it flies in the face of logic to have this after getting dressed and not before)
- Eat Breakfast / Have Milk (breakfast time is nearly always a fight in our house)
- Brush Teeth (I expected a fight here, too, since brushing teeth is always a fight in our house)
- Choice: TV / Read Books / Play Time
- Get Shoes On (Getting shoes on is nearly always a fight in our house, so we always leave it for last)
- Go by 8AM (this can vary, but our average is 8AM)
Astoundingly, none of the fights that we anticipated materialized. J didn’t actually eat his breakfast, and was dismayed later when I wouldn’t let him have it, but there were no tantrums, no arguments, no tears, and nothing but smooth transitions. Go figure. Somehow I get the feeling not every day will be this easy. But for today? I’ll take it.
Of course, one of the reasons today worked so well is I wasn’t planning on going in to the office, so I didn’t need to get myself ready, but it was still good to know that it CAN be done.
ChezPerky 
I know that it doesn’t mean that every day will go smoothly, but I’m glad to hear that today went well.
We’ll take what we can get right? š Good job this morning!
Baby Steps…One Day At a Time… Whatever you choose to call it, you should be happy for every little success.
My daughter also insist on first getting dressed and then the toilet. Also can not figure out why.
Good news!
P often refuses to go to the bathroom until after he’s dressed also. Don’t know why that is.
I’m glad this morning was good and hope that there are many more good mornings like that in the future!
And I LOVE that you actually said that in the baby store–perfect! You have my undying respect for saying something that many of us have thought 50 times before!
First {{{hugs}}}.
I remember when my boys were young and misbehaved. Often, if not always, their worst explosions were followed the next day by total sweetness. I often thought that they felt more secure because we had given limits to their emotions when they were unable to. Reading about the explosion at the store and the total co-operation the next day made me think that the behaviors were linked.
Are you charting behaviors? Perhaps this will be your pattern, too.
There were two books that I lived by. Parent Effectiveness Training by Dr. Thomas Gordon and Between Parent and Child, by Dr Hiam Ginnot (sp). Both of these books are available as used books on Amazon. Both of these stressed calm discussion — when the storm has passed of course — with the child.You can tell even a four year old about your feelings when they misbehave, so tell J. how it made you feel when he melted down in the store.
Much love…