tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post1567890733423610436..comments2024-03-27T19:04:31.290-05:00Comments on The Amazing Trips: greatness knows gentlenessThe Amazing Tripshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13761348688069779544noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-51024780290956836212010-12-03T23:42:36.749-06:002010-12-03T23:42:36.749-06:00My son is very good at pushing buttons. He's o...My son is very good at pushing buttons. He's only 3, and I am a little scared to think of what will happen as he gets older. My husband always manages to calm my worries with two pieces of advice:<br /><br />1) They push your buttons to see if you will love them despite the worst they can put you through.<br />2) Wouldn't you rather deal with a rotten kid, when they are a bit more easily disciplined, than have the easy kid and rotten teenager? He's from a family of 9 kids (he's the oldest) and so far the pattern has followed suit; the wild kids are the more well-behaved teens and the quiet kids are the teens with the problems. I think I'd rather have the wild child and tame teen, thankyouvermuch. Now here's to hoping that is really the case! ;)Carolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10163766807852531860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-44599637944505661472010-12-02T09:08:48.306-06:002010-12-02T09:08:48.306-06:00I have that book! Read it when James was younger. ...I have that book! Read it when James was younger. If I recall I was taking parenting classes and it was referenced quite a bit. <br /><br />There's another great little book that perhaps you could reference as well. In fact, you gave it to me as a gift many years ago!! <br /><br />It's "Oh the places you'll go" by Dr. Suess! It's great for all walks off life... be it career, parenting, homeschooling, etc. Marg.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-79249203812157511422010-12-02T03:43:31.883-06:002010-12-02T03:43:31.883-06:00I've been meaning to get that book. Hopefully ...I've been meaning to get that book. Hopefully I have some random luck left this year.sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01709720196432142455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-22051594680257435322010-12-01T23:12:08.328-06:002010-12-01T23:12:08.328-06:00I just love you, little girl. And this is not so ...I just love you, little girl. And this is not so that I would win a book, because I have it....but because everything you wrote makes perfect sense. How can we be perfect at something we've never done before, nor had schooling for? And what if our mothers were less than stellar? Then we have no perfect mother to model after......(my mom, though not the best, is a total dear and did the best she thought to do).<br />I think what you did with the kids was the best thing to do. I am still an advocate for spanking in dire circumstances. *some poster of yours will twist all this around, but each to his own. We'll compare kids in 20 yrs* And they will remember that spanking...and later on you just have to say, "are you going to act crazy and make me get the blood spatula out?" and amazingly, they remember, and choose to act better, to be better. Hang in there, little girl!!!!!!<br />Melody, with triplet boys, in Knoxvillelodyphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15860967342149039724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-41369549097421472642010-12-01T22:01:08.233-06:002010-12-01T22:01:08.233-06:00sounds like a good book to read...i have 4 year ol...sounds like a good book to read...i have 4 year old twins! discipline is always a challenge.JAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04223526802386457399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-67221765120145428772010-12-01T21:00:35.426-06:002010-12-01T21:00:35.426-06:00I have a 5 year old and a 3-1/2 year old, both boy...I have a 5 year old and a 3-1/2 year old, both boys. I love being a parent as much as I always dreamed I would, but on the other hand it is much more challenging than I imagined. I am normally a very calm, rational person, but these boys can get a rise out of me like no one else can. I would love a copy of a book that might create some peace between us while maintaining discipling and respect.LLanternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-28318034267610741232010-12-01T16:24:27.030-06:002010-12-01T16:24:27.030-06:00I have a 2 year old! Nuff said. Sign me up pleas...I have a 2 year old! Nuff said. Sign me up please!!! :) Love your blog...been reading for years.Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13804537011901627448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-6776407333606754662010-12-01T16:21:44.313-06:002010-12-01T16:21:44.313-06:00Would love a copy - I too am in the throws of chal...Would love a copy - I too am in the throws of challenging parenting with my 5 1/2 yr old twin boys. It's the escalation between them that fully sets me off. Many of the parenting books seem to address the parent as if they only have one child. Definitely could use some help so I'm not yelling so much. Thanks, Maureen (jnomaxx at hotmail dot com)NSMOMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09474133898656206649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-25936348212787234232010-12-01T15:58:54.915-06:002010-12-01T15:58:54.915-06:00I have an almost-8, a 3.5 and a 27 month old. Need...I have an almost-8, a 3.5 and a 27 month old. Needless to say, life is pretty crazy around here at times!! I'm not the patient mom I want to be. I would love to win a copy of Positive Parenting!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-69029799134963453022010-12-01T14:57:33.587-06:002010-12-01T14:57:33.587-06:00If I don't win this book I will have to get it...If I don't win this book I will have to get it from the library. We hate spanking and we say we won't do it but then we cave at some particularly stressful occurrence and feel terrible afterward.Just Vegashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09851077598314983920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-12462960208023624652010-12-01T14:57:08.546-06:002010-12-01T14:57:08.546-06:00Good, quick read recommended by professionals:
Pl...Good, quick read recommended by professionals:<br /><br />Plain Talk About Spanking<br />by Jordan Riak<br />http://www.nospank.net/pt2010.pdf<br /><br />Good website:<br />http://www.nospank.net/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-33498231712506955012010-12-01T13:34:29.456-06:002010-12-01T13:34:29.456-06:00yeah, I could probably do some hard time in parts ...yeah, I could probably do some hard time in parts of Europe as well.Daniellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04490578614214219045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-2314821218235421682010-12-01T13:06:28.133-06:002010-12-01T13:06:28.133-06:00Remember mine are 10 months older than yours. We ...Remember mine are 10 months older than yours. We already went through A is for ATTITUDE. I did not beat them death, although the thought crossed my mind a hundred times a day. I did a major, major behavioral crackdown. If so much as an eyeroll or back talk occurred, I grabbed their arms and had them staring at the wall in the corner so fast, they didn't even know what hit them. Gregory was my worst offender. He stood for 1.5 hours in the corner one day before I broke him. <br /><br />"Are you sorry for your disrespectful behavior?"<br /><br />"Whatever."<br /><br />"YOU JUST GOT 10 MORE MINUTES! GOT ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY?"<br /><br />"But......"<br /><br />"THAT'S 10 MORE MINUTES."<br /><br />And my head was spinning around and my neck veins were bulging just like my mother. I told him if he ever treated me that way again, the world as he knows it will cease to exist. <br /><br />Two weeks of major crackdown and we nipped that one. You can do it. GO JEN! GO JEN! GO JEN!Michele Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15061520456909635254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-2131633781619971092010-12-01T12:08:59.638-06:002010-12-01T12:08:59.638-06:00I don't think my comment was posted so I'l...I don't think my comment was posted so I'll write it again...I've been reading your blog for over 3 years now and I think you're doing an amazing job with your kids!Asiahanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-87916841047527408352010-12-01T00:29:28.219-06:002010-12-01T00:29:28.219-06:00Randomly, huh... yay! Do I have a chance? Please...Randomly, huh... yay! Do I have a chance? Please please please!!!Geologychickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05326271846932273163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-77594926519457149622010-11-30T23:56:41.583-06:002010-11-30T23:56:41.583-06:00I would love a copy! That would be such a good ad...I would love a copy! That would be such a good addition to our library!Sara Hammondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01549281327688681048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-62740457769219174202010-11-30T22:58:20.264-06:002010-11-30T22:58:20.264-06:00Sarah (AKA: Crunchy Conservative), I'm right t...Sarah (AKA: Crunchy Conservative), I'm right there with you because I don't entirely agree spanking = child abuse. But, I do think that there are better ways of handling almost all situations. I'm seeing it, more and more, that our kids are starting to smack each other and how can I tell them, "DON'T HIT!" when they see that I do?? Same goes for the whole, "DON'T SHOUT!" and yet, I'm screaming at the top of my lungs. Great Role Modeling, MOM!<br /><br />Michele (AKA: Crazy Chicken Lady), I'm really not trying to overanalyze this. But at the end of most days, I feel like a pile of dung for my own poor behavior. I'm supposed to be setting the example. OF COURSE my mother absolutely flipped out every so often <b>how could she not with six children born in seven years?!</b> But I'll guarantee you that if she had things to do over again, she'd try to do them differently. I know this because she is hooked on SuperNanny and was VERY bothered by a spanking that I gave to Carolyn when we were in SC last year. <br /><br />MY goal is to stop screaming as much as I do, to stop making idle threats and to stop head butting with a six year old. Two six-year-olds, to be exact. William is fine. It's the GIRLS who are driving me nuts and I never expected that their eye rolling and sass talking would start this young. GOD HELP ME. <br /><br />I don't want to beat them in to submission, which it almost feels like I need to do. There's got to be a better way so I'm desperately looking to find it. <br /><br />And if I don't ... well ... I'll be locked up. <br /><br />PS: You seriously think I'd let a child BITE me? Do you forget my suggestion for the tantrums that you were dealing with a few years ago coming out of Trader Joe's with the balloons?? I told you to snatch them away and POP them all and say, "YOU'RE GOING TO FIGHT OVER THESE? YOU AREN'T GOING TO HAVE THEM!" POP! POP! POP! POP! <br /><br />Yeah. I'm a real softy.The Amazing Tripshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13761348688069779544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-67991706149066808262010-11-30T22:49:50.354-06:002010-11-30T22:49:50.354-06:00I would love to get a copy of the book...I'm c...I would love to get a copy of the book...I'm currently having quite a few issues with my 5 year old and am definitely looking for ideas!Ginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06166336410718624443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-75723056344057898682010-11-30T22:30:15.842-06:002010-11-30T22:30:15.842-06:00I could definitely benefit from reading that book....I could definitely benefit from reading that book.<br /><br />I go back and forth on the spanking issue. My major gripe with the anti-spanking argument is this - parents who don't want to spank, but then do it in a moment of anger claim that spanking always equals lashing out in anger. In contrast, I know parents who consider spanking to be a valid discipline option. They warn their children, then calmly spank them when they overstep the boundaries, just as non-emotionally as some parents administer a timeout. Just because parents have found themselves spanking out of anger does not mean that spanking always has to equal an out-of-control parent. That being said, I want spanking to be at the absolute bottom of my discipline list. I just don't know what else to do some days. *sigh* I wish I had more parenting tools in my bag. So yes, please enter me in your book drawing, even if I refuse to jump on the spanking = child abuse bandwagon.<br /><br />And for what it's worth, I too consider babyhood to be SO much easier than, well, pretty much anything that comes afterwards. Especially when my babies were nursing, the answer was pretty simple and readily available. My older girls test my patience, push my boundaries, and challenge my creativity in ways that I never expected. On the other hand, they make me laugh, say things that stop me in my tracks, and melt my heart in ways that they never did as infants.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />SarahCrunchy_Conservativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13664462256982746031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-71097943434944655852010-11-30T21:48:33.505-06:002010-11-30T21:48:33.505-06:00I'd love to read more about this! I have a 5 ...I'd love to read more about this! I have a 5 year old too, and twins behind her. And I find myself yelling way too much. Would like to have a better idea on what to do.Safirehttp://www.waterfalling-up.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-11180142192461523282010-11-30T21:39:49.475-06:002010-11-30T21:39:49.475-06:00We try to stick with Love and Logic parenting stra...We try to stick with Love and Logic parenting strategies here, but I've had moments (read:days, weeks, and sometimes entire months) like the ones you describe when everything seems to get out of control no matter what I do. I'll find a copy of Positive Discipline and join in on the book club. Never hurts to add to my parenting arsenal, right?MaryBethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04616580074114782789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-36011810422959562192010-11-30T21:01:27.656-06:002010-11-30T21:01:27.656-06:00I half-joke with people that I was praying to God ...I half-joke with people that I was praying to God for patience with my 5 and 3-year-olds, then I realized that He was answering my prayers with opportunities to exercise it! I don't know if it their age, the switch from Stay-At-Home-Mom status to Full-Time-Working-Mom-Who-Spends-More-Time-Commuting-Each-Day-Than-She-Does-With-Her-Kids status, or simply the phases of the moon...but there truly is a behavior/discipline conundrum. I do know it is comforting that as bleak and weak as I feel as a mom, I'm really not alone. Thanks for your raw, honest post. And thanks for the book tip. If I don't win it, I'll definitely add it to my Christmas list!!Careyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02767143271269046531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-69607089451895606062010-11-30T20:56:20.649-06:002010-11-30T20:56:20.649-06:00Oh, and if you want to spend hours laughing at how...Oh, and if you want to spend hours laughing at how completely stupid people get about this whole "positive and gentle discipline", go look at the forum on it on mothering.com and read posts of kids spitting and kicking and hitting and biting their mothers, and oh gosh, WHAT SHOULD THEY DO? Cuz God forbid they DISCIPLINE little Billy. He might be scarred for life if his mother beats his ASS for biting her. It kills me.Michele Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15061520456909635254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-89342873649811310142010-11-30T20:52:59.001-06:002010-11-30T20:52:59.001-06:00HELLO, I've been reading your blog since you s...HELLO, I've been reading your blog since you started and you have ALWAYS been insane. Ohmygosh, Jen, didn't your mother ever go insane? My mother's head used to nearly spin right of her neck and her veins used to bulge she would be so irate. WE ALL DO THAT. That is NORMAL. All these books nowadays are written to make us overanalyze ourselves to death. Mothers get mad. Kids get whooped. You don't need to psychoanalyze it. It's just life. <br /><br />You are a perfectly fine crazy mother just like the rest of us. <br /><br />Now about the playdate. Thank goodness you were there to prevent William from learning about fighting with his friend, reconciling, and learning to deal with it. Whew. Kids fight at my house all. the. time. There are even tears. They get over it. I had one stampede into my kitchen and demand I call her mother. I told her, "Your mother is at the grocery store for the first time in a month without a child. You can either sit here in the kitchen with me, or you can go back outside and play." She went outside. I'm fairly certain it wasn't a life changing EVENT.Michele Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15061520456909635254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24756113.post-59410052965016800142010-11-30T17:19:45.689-06:002010-11-30T17:19:45.689-06:00Parenting is hard. I need all the help I can get....Parenting is hard. I need all the help I can get.Carriehttp://whoknewthiswasthehardpart.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com