Thursday, January 17, 2013

Is It Me? or Is It My Kid?

I think I've tried just about everything to get my kindergartner out of bed in the morning.

The challenge continues to confound me.

I've tried talking to her and rubbing her back.  I've tried yelling and pulling off the covers, singing and dancing, and reading her books.  I've tried alarms.  I’ve tried music.

Sometimes it works.  Sometimes it doesn’t.  Sometimes she wakes up sweet and happy.  More times she wakes up crabby and kicking.

I’m sure I’m missing something.  I’m sure there are more clues to this mystery and I am overlooking them.  For the past 2 days she’s picked her clothes out the night before - and so I just went ahead and put them on her while she woke up.  It has gone well.  

But it doesn’t always.  We’ve done this before and she’s responded with like a wild animal waking up to captivity.

At a certain point, we have to admit that this isn’t JUST about having the right answers as a parent.  Yes, parenting makes an enormous difference in the life of a person.  But they come preprogrammed with at least a few things.  Personality and temperament factor in and make it so one child will respond splendidly to a parenting strategy and the next child will not.

For 2 days in a row Clare has had good mornings.  I’m thrilled and I’m sure it makes her day better too.  I’m glad that what we’re doing is helping, but I want to give her some credit for making it happen.  SHE is making good choices and SHE is cooperating.  Besides breathing a sigh of relief and patting myself on the back, I need to make sure she knows - she is doing something right.    



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