Our mornings have been getting smoother. It has taken approximately the 10 weeks since school started for us to achieve the success I was hoping. Sam now gets dressed on her own; picks out her own clothing, doesn't throw a fit and doesn't whine. We are not a 100% perfect, but far enough along that I consider this a big check mark on the list for trying to fix our rocky and turbulent mornings.
About a week ago, my friend texted me venting about her two girls and what she goes thru each morning. She was at her wits end and couldn't take it anymore. Boy, could I relate! It was exactly identical to what I had been experiencing; from the "I have nothing to wear!", to "I don't want to wear that!", "or that!", "or that!", "or that!", to "I'm not getting dressed!", I didn't even need to read the text messages to know what my friend was saying. One of her daughters was too young to employ the same tactics I had been doing with Sam, but the other girl was the perfect age to give my strategy a go.
When I picked Sam up from school that afternoon, I decided to try something unique. I explained to Sam what my mommy friend was going thru and did she have any advice for her?
Sam: She needs to tell her daughter that she will not get breakfast until she comes downstairs dressed for school. And let her daughter know she will not get involved in any way. Just ignore her until she is dressed. She can only ask for help if she needs to know if something matches or needs help with a button or a zipper.
Oh my gosh! When I heard Sam's advice, I had a smile from ear to ear. She totally got it!
I said to Sam, "Boy, that's great advice! It really has made our mornings much easier, hasn't it?"
Sam agreed with me. Consider this obstacle now officially ironed out.
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