Life with a preschooler is easy and hard. It’s easy because she tells you what she wants, when she wants it. And never fear, she lets you know it. It’s hard because she tells you what she wants when she wants it. And her wants are much MUCH more than before. Her world is no longer limited to just the house, or just the day care. She is now exposed to friends, what they like and don’t like, what they do and don’t do. Her world grew bigger.
But she also keeps pushing her boundaries. She fancies herself a comedian. She goes around entertaining us, and making us laugh. The problem is that she can’t stop when it’s over. I guess maybe as grown ups, being told the same joke over and over again, gets old. For a preschooler, I guess it’s never enough. For us it gets old. And usually she is so revved up and wound up, that she won’t calm down.
This weekend was challenging because she just wouldn’t stop. The worst is when she does something that I know can hurt her. Like jumping on the couch. Or running with the tooth brush in her mouth. After the whole day of almost running with scissors in her hand and jumping in the bathtub, I had to put a stop to it. Several warnings later, I said, That’s it, no story tonight. You have not listened all day today. She starts with the waterworks. I’m sorry, Mommy, I want a story! After I calm down too, Thanks for apologizing, but I’m sorry you are not getting a story. But I said sorry to you (more tears!) O, you didn’t listen all day, and you need to remember that if you chose not to listen, there are consequences for your actions. Like no story at bedtime. More tears. More drama. I finally get her in bed with no story. She calms down, and then she starts telling from her room that she didn’t get a story today because she didn’t listen. That’s right, I respond. Then she tells me that tomorrow she will listen so she can have a story.
Today we get home from school, and she declares, Today I listened at school so I have a story.
I do feel bad. I mean she did apologize. But it’s hard to tell if she understands. DH doesn’t think she does. I still feel bad. I think that no story at bedtime brought the not listening thing home. Tonight when we picked her up, she was acting up. All DH had to say, Remember if you don’t listen, you don’t get a story. And all of a sudden she quieted down, and her mood changed. There is something to taking away the things that she loves to bring the point home.
