E-bull Shit

Lots of good suggestions on the Biting post, not to mention a debate on whether or not it's okay to bite the little punks back and another suggestion that I not refer to the E-bull one as Satan spawn anymore. I'm going to gloss over those last two, because I'm riding the cotton pony this week and there's an excellent chance that things could escalate into yelling pretty quickly and I don't want to do that (not today anyway) .

I will say that with Big Kid we are big on the "get down on his level, look him in the eye and explain WHY what he did was the wrong thing to do" technique and I know if we did this to little kid he would either give us a hug, laugh and go back to biting or he would bite me while I'm within easy grabbing distance. Unfortunately, the same things don't always work for different kids...that's what makes this parenting gig so tough. As soon as you think you've got it all figured out, God throws a whammy in there.

I very strongly agree with the theory that he enjoys any reaction he gets out of me. This is obviously true since he spends all day looking for one. I also like the suggestion that he gets locked in a high chair instead of his bed for time out. That's a good idea. We don't currently have a high chair, but I'll get the old one out and lock him up. Calmly.

I LOVE the idea of praising and babying the person who got bit and ignoring the biter completely. That really makes sense. My only concern is if this would encourage the rampant tattling problem we're currently battling, but I can deal with the tattling better than I can deal with biting, that is for sure.

It is obvious that little kid does this out of frustration with his lack of language. He always does it when he is angry/not getting his way. I also have to say that sometimes I can't blame him. So I do try to tell him what he should have done instead, "NO! We don't bite. You hurt Bubba and you made him sad. Next time Bubba takes your toy away you say 'NO BUBBA' or get mama." and then he gets put in time out.

This morning he hid behind a chair into the family room, where he had apparently stashed a Sharpie, and did some custom artwork on his pajama top. His new, cute pajama top. Oh well. I'm too beaten down to even get mad at him anymore (give me an hour or two though).

I have to grocery shop, or we're having ketchup soup for dinner tonight and I have to clean up around here. I almost forgot, tonight we have a family thing to go to with family that are in from out of town. I'd rather bathe in kerosene and play with matches. No offense to them. It's me, not them. I swear. Really.