48 Months.....

DISCLAIMER: I have been reading too much Dr Seuss.........

I do not like this age of four.
This age of four how I deplore.
Can I send her to her room?
Just till her birthday? It's coming soon.
What's the point? She'll scream in there.
No amount of door will stop that hot air.

This loud encompassing barrage of 'NO!'
Boy, can this kid put on a show!
This constant 'Won't!' and 'Can't!'
this constant obnoxious chant
drives me to a breaking point.
It makes my brain feel out of joint.

What happened to my sweet two and three?
The one that was so loving to me?
I miss my eager little helper,
ready to please and do what ever I ask her.
At least we've defined the word hate.
She hasn't used that one as of late.

It will pass. It's just a stage.
No way, that sounds too sage.
In the heat of battle it's hard to remember
This isn't the first time I've dealt with this banter.
Her sister went through it, the youngest will too.
You've done this before, just forgot what to do.

No reason or yelling will change this behavior,
so save all that hot air for later.
Every child needs this stage of learning.
Even if your face begins burning
when she bites her sister or hits the cat.
Patience is best, try to remember that.

HAHAHA.
Okay, how's that for my first attempt at poetry in many, many years? Please don't dissect it too much. I know there's a lot of rules for poetry.... I know none of them. Cliche away is my motto. This silliness was brought on by yesterday's trip to the doctor's office and the hair pulling chaos that followed. We were there for three and a half hours. Considering the time spent my kids did very well. No amount of stuff in our activity bag could help us make it through that long of a wait. Oh, my activity bag?

This is my sanity saver.

 

It has got me through many a trip to doctor's offices and other appointments. I had it stuffed today. Normally, I have a handful of picture books, coloring books, and other notebooks in it along with markers, crayons, stickers, etc. It is always in the car or by the front door. I hate days that I forget to bring it.

One day that I did forget it, I discovered about $10 of stuff from the dollar store can make a pretty good short term bag. Odd as it sounds a package of note cards and a marker can keep kids busy for about 30 minutes. Sometimes they draw people on them, other times a single line on each card. It is a little more wasteful than I like, but if it keeps you from making a scene some place, it's worth it.

When I say you, I mean that. Think about it. For me, nine times out of ten it's the parent at their wits end making a bigger scene than the child ever was. I can relate to the parent wanting to pull their hair out, but they are far more accountable for their actions than their child's actions. Don't get me wrong, I do this too! I'm sure I've left people with the impression I am the worst mother ever! It happens to all of us. The point is, don't feel guilty! Find solutions that work and move on! For me, this busy bag has been worth it's weight in gold. Bad days still happen, scenes still happen, but they happen less when you are prepared.

How do you avoid the inevitable meltdowns?