I thought it might make some of you laugh (and possibly disturb others) to see a list of what makes my three-and-a-half-year-old have meltdowns.
1) Putting on socks and shoes. The socks feel funny. The shoes are too tight and too loose (sometimes at the same time).
2) Clothes in general. He doesn't want to wear that shirt or those pants. The pants are too loose or too tight (sometimes at the same time).
3) How far his chair is pushed in at the table (it's too close, too far away- sometimes at the same time).
4) The towel in aforementioned chair has the slightest wrinkle in it. It must be fixed. Note: The towel is there in a fruitless attempt to keep my dining-room chairs cleaned. Really we should just get rid of the towel and save ourselves a few tantrums.
5) His car seat straps are too loose or too tight (sometimes at the same time). Also, a piece of fabric that his back touches when he's in the car seat is ever so slightly wrinkled.
6) There is too much or too little juice in his glass (sometimes at the same time).
Those are the main reasons for our battles these days. As you can see from the repetition of the theme "sometimes at the same time," this seems to be more of a test of wills to see who is in charge. However, we do sometimes get a bit worried that he may have some OCD tendencies. Of course, his grandfather (my dad) had folding undershirts, towels (heck, all laundry) down to an art form. When my dad was sick, and I did laundry, he pretty much left the room rather than watch my pitiful attempts at folding! Maybe he gets some of this honest, but it still drives me and C a bit crazy some days. I try to see the humor in some of it and remember, I am in charge. So what makes your children become the Tasmanian Devil?
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6 comments:
Many similar things for my three year old. He fights clothes too. Sadly - his pants ARE always too tight. He really needs the husky size you have to order online (which I just did).
For us, a big one is food. Oliver pretty much ONLY eats cheese melted on bread. And lately - he's been in the habit of peeling the cooled cheese off of the bread - so he's really just eating cheese. But god forbid I just offer him a piece of cheese. Then it's no good - has to be melted first. Do you think anyone ever died from eating nothing but cheese?
Sadly, I am so with H on some (probably most) of his meltdown creators. And here I thought it was Chris with the OCD problems...maybe it's me too. :/
Kate - I (heart) cheese! I hope you can't die from it. :)
That is Hilarious!!! It sounds like you were describing my 3 1/2 year old=) Especially the clothes thing, that is why she went to church as a "princess" one day=)
There are a love of "compromise" with my 3 1/2 year old. He want a certain outfit for school and gets all up in arms about it so I calm him down by negotiating one or two items and sticking to my guns on others that are more important (OK, you can wear the pants you want but you can't wear the McQueen shirt to school) and that usually works.
It's the same with food but not as successful. Dinner can be a challenge because he is so picky and I want him to just eat what we eat but NO, me, my husband and my 2 year old all eat one thing and my oldest has to eat something from the list of 15 things that is acceptable to the king! Again, I try to negotiate with him, if he eats X then he can also have Y from his list.
It's like working at the UN, it takes A LOT of patience (which I tend to totally lose once in a while...OK all the time)!
Kate- H will ask for cheeseburgers on the grill and then just pull the cheese off and eat it sometimes! I hope no one will die from just eating cheese. H loves his cheese, and I think he got it honest b/c apparently I had to drink a lot of apple juice as a child to balance all the bread and cheese I ate.
Mel- You're pregnant, things really might be too tight and too loose at the same time on you!
Tasha- Glad you laughed, and some days, I think I deserve to at least be treated like a princess and maybe wear the outfit too! Where is my tiara?
Anastasia- A writer and an international peace-keeper, you amaze me :) I try to negotiate too, but he can be so stubborn. My husband and I would love for all of us to eat the same thing, but it only seems to work with lasagna, pizza, and burgers on the grill.
All- Thank you for assuring me that H is a somewhat normal three year old. It seems toddlers want to argue about the necessities of life (food, clothing). If he starts asking for a new house, he'll have covered them all! Thanks again :)
Kids' socks are from the Devil! We have JUST, JUST gotten past this with my 7 year old daughter. I am not trying to scare you, just let you know you are not alone!
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