“Kids need structure.”
“Consistently is key.”
“You have to follow-through.”
… okay cool. Check. Got it. But why didn’t anyone ever tell us how HARD it would be to actually follow-through with empty threats to your kids? I’m not talking “don’t hit your brother or you’ll go to your room”, but more like “if you choose to keep XYZ, we will have to stay home” and even “if you don’t eat your dinner, you’ll have to go to bed hungry” (side note: why is putting them to bed hungry so hard?).
Let’s just put it out there: having to use these kinds of statements SUCKS.
I’ve decided that this is the actual worst part of parenting. A little dramatic? Maybe. But think about it: it’s not the middle-of-the-night wake ups, the dirty diapers, or the lingering feeling that you have no idea what you’re doing. Those are expected! It’s the moment when you don’t get what to do what you want or enjoy because you threatened your kid that you’d take it away. Talk about your all-time backfire.
Anyone else have to miss a Target run because your kids were a hot mess? Have to cancel a play date, so then you were stuck in the house with team “make Mom crazy” all day?
How do you handle these moments?! I’m guessing the answer is “just tough it out”, but I’m not really liking that answer at the moment. Is there some secret trick to phrasing that I’ve missed? (and trust, I offer choices like I’m the world’s greatest salesman– but that doesn’t always work on an immature brain) Is there some elusive way to make my kids actually care about the perceived threat? Or is this just the stage we’re in?
Advice is welcome, babes.
Oh, and for those riding in this same boat: solidarity, sister (and cheers)