· This is a phrase I’ve been saying with my middle child a lot recently. She has been very…shall we say…curious. She is the one who ends up with my make-up all over her face, the lotion dumped out, marker on the walls, or toys in the toilet. Today, it was nail polish all over herself and the bathtub. She also wants privileges around the house. When she asks for markers I say, “I want to be able to trust you, but you colored all over the table last time. You’re going to have to show me with your crayons and pencils that we color on paper only. Once I can trust you again, you can start coloring with markers.” It goes for putting her own toothpaste on her toothbrush or using a little bit of lotions for her hands or working with glue. I am finding that she wants to be trusted too, but today was a backslide. Have a mentioned this job is hard?
This bottom picture happened a couple weeks ago. She found my chocolate fondant and hid in the bathroom to eat it.
Glad these moments aren’t ONLY my kids! I feel your frustration. Never thought of breaking it down and using the TRUST word with my children… think I’ll try this!
Thanks!
You are definitely not alone. You know the tip that helped me most can be found here: http://www.meaningfulmama.com/2012/01/day-28-tip-keep-them-close.html This is what really ended up transforming their behavior. Hard work for a few days, but so worth it now that I can trust them.