Friday, February 22, 2008

Family Time Friday: Baby Bootcamp

I have a whole great photography post planned but little kid is really challenging Baby Boot Camp: Day 1.

I've decided that although he is young, he is obviously advanced in terrorism skills. He also seems to have Britneyitis aka not giving a shit whether or not people love you or hate you as long as they are looking at you (strangely, I can relate to this). Therefore, I am going to try 1-2-3 Magic again.

123 Magic is a book that recommends giving no reaction at all. The first time they act up, you say "That's 1"...let them get to three and they get an instant time out. No discussion, no "why did you do that", no lecture, just time out.

We tried it with Big Kid when he was in his public humiliation tantrum phase, but unfortunately he did not give a rat's ass about any 1-2-3 bullshit when he was in the midst of one of his dramatic meltdowns.

I started first thing this morning and he caught on immediately. As soon as I say "That's 1" he starts stomping his feet and whining and he can not resist checking out what will happen for 2 and 3 at that point. So he has been in time out 47 times so far this morning. Fun, fun. Baby bootcamp should be a blast.

He has written on himself with a pen, poured caramel on the dog, rolled the office chair to the door in an escape attempt, chewed the end of the hose and bit me over an M&M, but all in all, I think I'm seeing some improvement. A slight improvement.

At least in myself. I do kind of enjoy the time outs.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

keep strong!!! we're here to cheer you on!

Anonymous said...

Big strong Ashley! We're rooting for you!

Katie

Anonymous said...

Poured caramel on the dog? LOL.

Maggie said...

It took me two kids to learn this, but that's good advice you're following. I'm a slow learner, but I eventually figured out that what a kid hopes to get from really bad behavior is a reaction. So, you don't give them one, but don't let them get away with whatever it was either. It's hard for mom at first but it certainly works. Good luck. You are in some of the hardest parenting years. If you can hang tough here, the BIG payoff down the line (in addition to the immediate one you hope for) is that when the kids are teens they will understand that you're the parent (boss of them!). Hope Mr. A. is on the same page as you. Again, good luck. I may actually pray for you.

Anonymous said...

I think E-bull is a genious or my daughter is "slow"

Anonymous said...

I am liking the babyboot camp and I am willing to give this 123 method a chance...right now as a matter of fact...as I type this the spawn is rewiring the dvd/tv/sat dish. One question, I know what time out is but how do you keep him there? bungy cords? I used the corner with DS 1(aka angel) but I am pretty sure if I put this one in the corner he would pick paint off the walls...

Dawn

jenn said...

For added 1,2,3 Magic...turn it into a drinking game! Every time he gets a Time Out, you do a shot! Fun for the whole family!

ErIn said...

Aaaah, 123 Magic. Just wait, it won't be long before he starts doing the counting for you. Then that 123 Magic shit goes right out the window. Good luck today though!

Maddnessofme said...

I couldn't do what you do without being medicated.

Anonymous said...

you poor thing. will the jews take them this young? the evil ones are always good for other people.

i'm switching friday and saturday b/c i despise cleaning on the weekends and soccer season starts tomorrow. so today i'm tackling the laundry room. i neglected to put it on my cleaning schedule b/c it frightens me. "just stick it in the laundry room" is a very common phrase around here, so you can imagine what it looks like. shelves will be organized, appliances will be pulled out, and stuff will find permanent homes.

tomorrow is fun family time at the soccer field. (i'm actually secretly hoping for rain so that i can sleep in).

Anonymous said...

Never heard of this 123 method but wondering if it will work with coworkers who are not technically babies/toddlers/kids. Hmm....

Joy said...

My Little Evil is totally unfazed by time out, when you say "do you want to go to time out?" she will respond with "Yea" it totally sucks but I put her there anyways.

We use the bathroom and a stool I usually stand right outside the door to avoid any other bad behavior.

Good Luck I a sm sure you can ship him into shape, if not you could always call Maury or Jerry and go on the show and have him shipped off to real bootcamp-I know you seen this the other day they did a girl bootcamp on Maury.

Jamie P said...

Not giving a reaction is SO HARD!!!!

Me said...

I just threaten mine with "daddy" and that usually works wonders.

Anonymous said...

WOW, that all sounds like SO much fun...
Good luck today! xoxo

Pixie said...

Hmmm my little one is trying my patience with provoking the puppy to continuously bark. So maybe I might try this 1-2-3 boot camp. =)

Jennifer said...

I just saw this commercial and thought of LK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WscNJCMHGho