I love my kids. I feel I need to say that before I post this next thing. If someone were to threaten either one of them I would lift up a car and throw it at them, no problem. I would be so enraged my superhero strength would surely kick in.
That said, my kids are little adults in training that have their own opinions about everything and sometimes piss me off.
When they are little you think, “This is just a stage. This will pass soon, and we will be (thankfully) on to the next stage and challenge.”
You never ever think that they will go BACK to a stage that you hated. But, alas, it has happened to me.
Hunter was a very curious two year old and in to EVERYTHING. I was constantly worried. He wasn’t much of a climber but would open and investigate anything. And god forbid you leave a glass of liquid on the coffee table. He would drink it. No matter what, no questions asked. That box that you thought stuck shut forever? Oh, he would find a way to open it and unpack all of its contents. It was a hectic, harried, frantic time of worrying and child proofing that I was glad to put behind me.
Oh karma, she is a bitch. My mom always said it was going to come bite me in the butt and it has.
Hunter is BACK in that phase again! AGAIN. Except now he is taller. And he knows how to climb on chairs. And he knows how to pretend he is deaf. Oh help me.
The other day I was cutting apples for a snack. I left the cutting board and apple on the kitchen counter to grab cheese from the fridge. That is a whole three steps away, folks. So I turn back to the counter and Hunter has reached up and grabbed the knife and is pretending to cut the side of the kitchen counter!!!
Argh.
I sat him down and gently explained why this is dangerous and we should never ever touch anything on the counter without asking Mommy first. He cried cuz I scared him but -good- he scared me. And maybe out of fear he won’t do it again.
He is also deaf lately and thinks that “oh sorry, I didn’t know” absolves him of any guilt. No kid, you can’t do it anyway, say sorry and think you are instantly off of the hook. No way.
Hunter is being a number one jerk lately and being defiant for the sake of it. I attribute some of his behaviour to the ants in his pants that he has due to his growth spurts. He is growing like a weed! I think it makes him anxious, uncomfortable and restless.
That also doesn’t make his behaviour excusable. Any other moms go through these repeated phases?
There have been lots of talks with him on the WHY of his behaviour, the reason it is wrong and potential consequences. He has also spent some time sitting at the table or his thinking pillow to think about why he did it and why it was wrong. Then he has to come and tell me in his own words what he has figured out. He’s only 4 but it works.
So- I’m handling it in my own way and making progress but some days I tell ya. I hope this repeated phase doesn’t last long!
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