Posts Tagged ‘creative parenting’

Santa’s Calling!

Monday, November 18th, 2013

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Haley continues to be the very typical two-year old. She often behaves defiantly—sometimes out of anger, sometimes for laughs, sometimes just because she can. A fun way she’s been displaying that defiance is by refusing to put her pants back on after using the potty. Her no-pants-dance-party is sort of amusing, but when I want to get on with my day I find myself more quick-tempered than I’d like to admit.

So recently I tried a new approach. Threats of time-out and other punishments did nothing to improve the situation. The last time this happened—by coincidence—Santa called me, just to do a periodic check and find our how Haley was doing! Can you believe that? He asked what you would expect—is Haley behaving and listening—and wanted to go over her Christmas list with me. As Santa and I conversed something even more miraculous happened—Haley put her pants on! Which is lucky, because I was able to give Santa an excellent report and her toy deliveries are still on schedule. Whew!

I hadn’t planned on Santa calling. It’s amazing how resourceful a parent can be during difficult moments. You can’t rely on the same old methods. Your toddler is constantly changing—so you need to as well. I’m psyched that Haley is not only getting into the Christmas spirit, but it’s a source of motivation for her, too. I have heard that some parents think it’s not right to tie Christmas celebrations to behavioral expectations, and I can respect where they’re coming from. But when you’re trying to catch a train, prevent a pot from over-boiling, or just save your sanity, you’ll do what you need to do to get those pants on and move forward. Santa is only trying to help. I’ll take the assist.