Although we have been battling with simmering temper tantrums for a couple of weeks, Kitten finally had a 3-Mile Island core breach that threatened to turn into a Chernobyl firestorm, spewing toxic waste throughout the tri-state area.
It was over the cheese limit.
Now, I know Kitten is tired and hungry when we get home and I know it's hard to wait for dinner, but we're not even asking her to wait. She gets her cheese right away and then she get's something else, usually yogurt or something else acceptable to her picky little palate, while I get dinner prepared. She then eats again if she is willing to try it. So it's not like we're starving the child.
But tonight, she did not curry well to the 2 slice maximum. She threw a fit when I tried to offer her some yogurt. She threw a bigger fit when I offered her cinnamon sugar baked pita chips, which I specifically purchased for her. She threw a fit when I offered her some milk. She cried the whole time. Then she threw herself on the floor and kicked her feet. She pushed herself around the floor with her angry little legs. She screamed and cried. It was all I could do not to laugh.
I gave up trying to reason with her several minutes before Pants did. Finally, I told him outright to just leave her be. I know he doesn't like to hear her cry, but please. This was obviously a power play. I wasn't going to give her the cheese. I had carefully laid out her options. So I let her scream on the floor.
And about 5 minutes after we both stopped paying any attention, she stopped. She quietly got up off the floor and came into the kitchen. I asked if she wanted some yogurt and she nodded her head yes. So she had some yogurt. And some of the pita chips. She even tried them together.
And that was it. She did have another episode about half an hour after she went to bed, but this is not unusual. After a brief visit to her room, which I swear just pisses her off more, I went back upstairs and turned off the monitor.
So that's it. We're clearly being played. And I was totally buying into it.
6 comments:
I'm beginning to understand my parents laughing at my temper tantrums. I never really thought of it before, but they knew what I was up to, even if I didn't.
That being said, I would get awfully angry if someone didn't give me cheese. Just as hubby about how cranky I get if you don't feed me what I want right now.
Go Syl! Go Pants! Go-go gadget parenting skills!! You guys rock and your kids will too, cause youz gots the power :-)
Yeah, they are little masters of manipulation WAY earlier than you'd guess! And even knowing it doesn't always make it easier to resist.
Good for you for sticking to your guns and two slice limit - it's not like you were starving her - she had other options. And I bet the next cheese-slice-incident will probably be shorter lived since you didn't give in this time.
This post terrifies me. Way to do the parenting thing.
You are the meanest mom in the whole wide world! (do you know that song? we sing it here. Often. And my daughter can't even talk yet.)
ANd now I want cinnamon pita chips
Congrats. The tantrums may extinguish in time, just stay on the same page. I'm still working on our little bundle of joy. She's almost six, but still acts like that at times. I think she'd be done if all of the care givers she's had were all consistent in ignoring her. Dad often like to cave as do the grandparents. Maybe she'll stop by the time she's 20!
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