I just have to know. Does anyone out there in cyberspace have a 7 year old (or close in age) who still can throw a good old fashioned temper tantrum like a three year old?
If not, I am boxing up all of my curriculum, sending my kids off to boarding school and having an affair with the pool boy (okay, just a tad overboard since we don't even have a pool... and the thought of an affair creeps me out).
K.Z. and the girls were having a great day at school today. We had just finished reading about Osiris and his evil brother Set and they were busily coloring a picture depicting the story when someone looked at someone cross eyed or thought a mean thought or stepped on their curls or something, which started an argument.
I decided that they all needed to go to their respective rooms for a couple of minutes and cool off. They were not so happy about this and I heard them hurl some insults at one another from their rooms.
It was pretty much the standard, "You're mean."
"No you're the meanest."
"No, you!"
I ignored it until Xena started to really get upset and cry after K.Z kept slinging and singing the "You are mean" song in the tune of, "nanny, nanny boo boo". Truly the stupidest thing I have ever heard.
Calmly I went upstairs to put out all the small fires and wipe away Xena's tears. Since she was the least ugly with her words and the most upset (and fighting a fever), I tucked her away in my room, cuddled on my bed with PBS to keep her company for a bit.
K.Z. was simply told that he had to do an act of service for his sister since he was being so mean to her and clean up her room. C'sa was to help since she had gotten in on the act as well. So far, so good.
It was after King K.Z. declared that he was only cleaning Xena's half that I decided I had had enough. I told him he was to help C'sa clean all of it. The tantrum commenced.
Screaming, yelling, pouting, crossing arms, telling me "no", the whole nine yards. I kept my cool the whole time and rode out the tantrum wave without killing him. He wound up having to stay in his room until he calmed down after being disciplined for disobedience, then clean the girls' room all before he got a morsel of food for lunch. I think it took all of 7 minutes to clean the room. All after a 45 minute temper tantrum.
The kicker? After he was done, he was back to being my sweet, normal, compliant little man. Please, someone tell me that this is normal!
3 comments:
I'm sorry you had such a rough time of it. I'm not looking forward to the 7 year old temper tantrum, the 5 (almost 6)year old ones are kinda messy, but I can still pick them up! Wish I could give you some advice. Don't you sometime wish you could go back in time, about 10 hours ago, (knowing what you know now) and do it again. My two are throwing things at each other right now, when they are suppose to be getting ready for bed. I'll pray for wisdom for you.
NORMAL!!!!! So normal its funny, but not! I've survived 3 kids through that age and I'll tell you, for boys, my favorite age is 10. I'm telling you, sweetness at every level kicks in a 10. But just for that year. Its freaky weird. Do you like Dr. James Dobson? He has a book on boys...read it, highlight it, memorize it and remember, Jesus was 7 once. He knows what its like. And Mary had to raise him through it. She knew it too. Another great read is Wild At Heart by John Eldridge...most excellent at understanding why boys make sandwiches into guns! Ask Jesus for wisdom. But I think you did a great job handling that. I'm gonna use the act of service idea! I love it! So, see? In your moment of shipping off your kids, you've blessed me all the way up here in Canada..eh? Thanks!
As a homeschooler you don't get the pleasure of the teacher calling you on the second day of school for the same thing in the middle of the classroom. Has to be hard for a boy in a home full of women!!!!!!! or, in my case, a boy who has to sit in class for hours on end, key word SIT. Another funny thing is that Carter was so excited to do his homework ( you can tell he is only in first grade) but could not seem to tell me what the homework was in his folder and asked if I could please call the teacher on her cell phone to ask her what.
Just think, one day our sons will love us as much as our husbands love their mamas.
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