Friday, February 13, 2009

She get's it from Will's side.

Amelia is the most stubborn child I have ever encountered.

We're on day five of a room cleaning standoff. On Monday she took out all of her toys and then refused to pick them up. We took away her beloved blankies (which normally will make her crumble like a stale cracker). Not this time. She has had to have raisins for snacks instead of cookies like the boys. She has not been allowed to watch TV or play outside. She has been pretty much confined to her room all week with the promise that all her privileges and indulgences will be restored once she picks up the toys.

The mess, day five.


What she's doing right now instead of cleaning.


I even bought her a pack of rhinestone rings she'd been coveting for weeks. Nope. Not even the rings would make her budge.

Will, who is much more of a push over than I am, tried to bargain with her. He said that if she just picked up the Little People he would help her with the rest.

Not gonna do it.

So, here we are on day five. It's a battle of wills at this point. I'm oddly curious to see how long she can hold out.

And it's not just her room that we're battling. It's everything. Last night Will asked her to put her shoes away. They were about four feet from the basket where they belong. This resulted in a 45 minute tantrum of epic proportions, and ended with Liam putting the shoes away because even at four years old he knew that it was frakkin ridiculous.



Here's a sampling of the Epic Shoe Tantrum of 2009



Also? For some reason she now gets naked when she's mad. Hopefully she outgrows this--it could be a problem as an adult.

During the shoe tantrum

13 comments:

  1. Sorry, you can't blame this one on Will's side of the family. Watching that video clip gave me PTSD flashbacks to you at that age. I believe that Aunt Becky and anyone else that knew you at age 3 will attest to this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, that child is red! That's great you took pictures/video though!

    We're totally going to have our handful, but I'm not sure how our handful will manifest at this time.

    We each think she got her stubborness from the other and cannot be convinced we're wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Three was always much worse than two in my house. Too bad you don't spank.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Choose your battles, Brandi. The problem now is that you HAVE to follow through. Is it really worth the fight? I mean, really?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Not MY Amelia. :) Stick to your guns bayba.

    ReplyDelete
  6. grace is the same way, but i've given up while i'm pregnant. i dont ask her to do anything.

    i saw the ads! (two of them are the same) it may work better if you advertise stuff you actually like to use. like your favorite mop, or all the infomercial stuff, but maybe that isn't advertised on blogs...

    ReplyDelete
  7. It randomly generates ads based on my content. I can't choose them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good for you for sticking with it! Let us know when she finally caves.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yes Brandi. Its true. You have a child who behaves exactly like you did. I love you, but I don't have alot of sympathy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Also, I heard that when kids take their clothes off (we have a LOT of 'nakie time' at our house) it is their way of relaxing. The article I read equated it to an adult having a glass of wine (gasp!) or a hot bubble bath. Did it seem to calm her at all??

    ReplyDelete
  11. You know, this is probably the wrong answer, but I'm kinda impressed with Amelia's fortitude - I mean, that takes some stick-to-it-ness! Now, the anger-related nakedness I can't abide - I'm just picturing naked butts leaving naked butt prints all over my furniture and that's just wrong. But I'm all about the non-violent protest, my little sistah!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ah...this brings back Nona memories. We resorted to water in the face. My MIL said she used to stick her youngest in a cold shower. We opted for water in a spray bottle. It still works, especially in those endless tantrums. It's like getting a slap in the face without the slap. :) We hardly have to use it anymore. The threat of water works just fine.

    So what if my kids are a little terrified of getting wet...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Will (aka the innocent one)February 14, 2009 at 8:18 AM

    What mom said.

    ReplyDelete

Be nice or I'll punch you in the taco.

LinkWithin