***
Okay, I'd totally written something else that was newsy and happy and fun. But what I'm really thinking tonight is that disciplining kids is no fun.
One of the kids lied to me tonight--repeatedly and about something completely dumb. But the fact that she stood there and lied to my face again and again and blamed her sister put me over the edge. She's not a habitual liar, but there was something in this that grabbed my attention and made me feel like it really needed to be dealt with in a big way.
So I sent her to her room for a while so I could think it over and not discipline her in anger. My sister called in the midst of all of this and reminded me of when she learned the "DO NOT LIE!" lesson--after peeling the stickers off of her Rubik's cube and then saying she'd really solved it--again and again.
Why do kids lie about such dumb stuff? Especially when there is plenty of opportunity to come clean and tell the truth before it gets really, really bad?
Anyway, it was hard to come up with something. Take away her allowance--she doesn't really care. Lock up the American Girl dolls--not really effective since we're going on vacation tomorrow. Not much fazes her and so it's hard to come up with something that she really cares about.
So I settled on spanking her. ("Okay, Mom, but I'm not going to cry," she said.) And then I held her while she cried and told her how much I loved her and how important it is to tell the truth. I told her that I want to trust her and I want other people to trust her. And then I told her I loved her some more and tucked her into bed.
And now I'm completely exhausted. I know that no one said parenting would be easy, but some days are definitely harder than others.
Disciplining is tough. I can only imagine that it gets harder as they get older. Your upcoming cruise sounds great, and I am sure everyone is anticipating all the fun that is awaiting. I hope you all have a wonderful & safe trip. Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Sam | December 13, 2006 at 07:00 PM