My 3 Year Old Was the Parent Last Night.

While we were on vacation last year, we had reservations mid-way at a hotel in an unfamiliar town. So we are tired and stressed from being in the car all day, and hungry of course, and we locate the hotel. My husband and I start having a low-grade heated discussion about whether to go check in at the hotel and then address dinner plans, or find an ATM to get pizza money before we even check in. So we're arguing about where the ATM is, do we turn at this traffic light or is it one of those optical illusions and we should turn at the next light? And all of a sudden my five year old pipes up from the back, "Mommy, stop micromanaging Daddy!" Which is exactly what I was doing. Our laughter certainly dissolved any tension in the car at that point!

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I've been schooled by my 3yo DD too for giving her a whack on her back end - not a spanking per se, but just a quick whop when she was being exceptionally defiant and was not heeding my warnings. She got really mad and looked right at me, pointed with her little finger, and yelled, "Don't DO that to MY BODY!" And I said, "OK sweetie, you are right - I should not do that and I am sorry. But next time you need to listen better too." It is not a moment that I was proud of, but I sure was proud of my daughter for sticking up for herself!

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One day I was angry and yelling and my oldest, then 5, said "Mommy, I think you need a time out." I said, "You know what - you're right." I went and sat in the time out spot until I calmed down. : )

We are only human and I think these moments are when we see that our children HAVE learned the behavior we USUALLY model.

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Fabulous stories!

I have migraines, and this week has been particularly bad for some reason. Wednesday night I felt awful and was resting after school (I teach). Hubby was working late, and I started to get up to fix dinner for my boys, ages 7 and 13. My 13 year old stopped me. He said, "Mom, you really need to rest. I'll fix dinner and get C ready for bed. You go to sleep." I tried to protest, but he just nudged me back into bed. He was right; I wasn't up to doing anything, but it was so nice having him take care of me. He did a great job with dinner and caring for his brother, too!

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Aren't they just a mini record player. I have a habit of telling my 3 year old son when he is obviously just refusing to acknowledge or listen to me to "look at my eyes" and then I will proceed with whatever instruction it is--stop what he's doing, come here etc etc...

Last night I was on my laptop trying to type an email and he kept asking for a cup of water. I explained I was busy and I'd get to him in a minute. Mind you I didn't stop what I was doing or even look at him, I was trying to hurry up so I could get his glass of water.

What does he do, he comes over stands right in front of me and says matter of fact "Mommy stop what you are doing and look at my eyes, I need a glass of water please" I was dumbfounded and couldn't help but laugh AND get his glass of water! He was such my mini-me! I'm even more amused when he does the same to my 18 month old--No screaming, no pinching, hands are not for hitting--I love this age (for the most part)!

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Happens all the time...they are much wiser than we give them credit for.

Our three year old son has a habit of interrupting when my almost six year is talking to my husband. Hubby says "I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to sissy"...adding "please wait your turn"...my son the other night in the car was angry with his sister and I said "what is going on back there?"...and this is what I get "MOM, I not talkin to you, I talkin to sissy!"...put me in my place...and I will say he handled himself very well with her. She usually gets her way in their arguements.

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My 7-year-old has those moments but they're usually with my husband. He'll say something like "all daddy had to do was give me a warning and I would have done [x] - he didn't have to hurt my feelings by yelling at me."

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Mine does that all the time. If you raise your voice--not really yelling even--she will say "don't shream at me". If you tell her to listen, she will tell you that you did not listen because you "shream" at her. And if you let slip "what the heck" or On My God", she will tell you not to say that. I have 12 yr olds and then her (almost 3) and she tries so hard to be like the older kids. And yes, I wonder sometimes how long I was actually pregnant because she does act like an older child.

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aw thats really cute. hope you feel better!

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its an age thing i have a 21 yr old whos rules are diffrent and a 2 yr old when the 21 yr old does something the 2 yr old would get a time out for he puts big bubba in the corner :) he doesnt understand he is older and has diffrent rules. like for safety. he cant cross a street alone so why does big bubba. in their mind this is right. they dont understand the whys.

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This morning I was telling my daughter (3.5) to get her jacket out of our room and put it on. Instead she was playing around and kept pushing her 1.5 year old brother out of the way and blocking his way when he was trying to follow her to the bedroom. I swatted her on the bottom (lightly) after telling her several times to stop blocking his way, get her jacket, etc then I turned off our bedroom light and headed back into the kitchen. She got very upset and came out of the room with her jacket. I told her she needs to listen when I ask her to do something and she said "Well did something wrong too. (*figured she would say that I spanked her*) You turned off the light and it scared me. You should not have done that." And I said "You are right, I am sorry." and she said "I am sorry too!" Kind of funny!

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Loving these stories! I've got two to share.

One morning when my oldest was 2, I had given her a mini-lecture about listening better. When I put her down for her nap that afternoon, she was calling to me, "Mommy! Come back here!" I just ignored her figuring she would get tired & lay down for her nap. After about 10 minutes of her constantly calling for me, I finally went into her room to see what her deal was. As soon as I opened the door, she said, "Mommy, you need to listen better!" I was so busted!

When she was about 3.5 she had the usual defiance as she tried to create her own self. Whenever we didn't agree on something (for example, I said bed time was 8, she thought it should be later) I would calmly tell her, "Sweetie, I'm not discussing this with you." One day she was having a fit because she didn't want to take her nap, so she stomped her tiny foot and said, "Mommy, I'm not disgusting this with you!" HA! I nearly fell over laughing!

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Take care Mom. You have a nasty illness and it will cause trouble if you can't get good treatment for it. Find a really great acupuncturist and go every week.
By the time I was five years old I was the only adult in the family and believe me that was quite a burden. So go get treatment that will keep you on top of your illness.

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Sounds like my 3.5 year old daughter. Sometimes I think there is so much they can teach us if we just stop, observe and listen!

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Good for you. You taught her not to yell, she clearly absorbed that lesson. You listened to her when she repeated it back to you in an appropriate context. And you didn't get all flipped out about 'disobedience' like some parents do. You did the right thing. 'good job' LOL

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I also have Fibro, and find myself getting very cranky with my son at times. Whenever I have lost my temper I am very careful to follow it up with an apology and acknowledgement that I was wrong to behave that way. He has really surprised me many times not only with some of the profound things he says (like the more love you give, the more you get), but with how sweet and compassionate he can be. One time I was too tired to eat, so he made me a sandwich and brought it to me in bed. Kids really are amazing.

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Hello, My youngest son is 33. When he was little, he put his father and me on a "bad word" diet. If we said a bad word, he would say, "Bad word diet." It would remind us. I didn't use a bad word for many years after that. I even told my kids that if I was overreacting to something it was okay to tell me.
Now I have six grandchildren, I have told them the same thing. My 2 1/2 year old granddaughter has Down's Syndrome. She attends special classes twice a week and has a speech therapist. The therapist will point to her mouth when she is showing her a word. We do the same when we want her to repeat a word. Sometimes, she will turn our face and point to her mouth and say a word to us. It is just too cute!!
Good luck with your precious little girl.

K. K.

mine isn't doing things like that yet, but she has the personality for it! :) I'm sure she'll be telling me when i mess up faster than I'd like her to!

on a side note, my mother has fibromyalgia as well (diagnosed 12 years ago or so). VERY RECENTLY, her doctor checked her vitamin D levels in her blood on a hunch. (apparently there is some new research out there) hers was low, so he's got her on supplements, and she is feeling SO much better. i know there's not much you can do about the condition, but the vitamin D thing is a minor thing that (if it IS part of the issue) could help.

Best of luck!!

I too suffer with Fibromyalgia and the last few weeks with the cold and rainy weather have sent my fibro pain skyrocketing.

I have a 6 and almost 4 yo. They are always humble-izing me. They definitely keep me on my toes and keep me morally and ethically in check.