Kicking and Screaming

I thought I should tell my side of the story so that it is in print before the neighbors call the police for the noise that they have heard coming from my house every morning......

All three of my children have very different personalities.  I am sure any parent with more than one child will say the same.  Parker is very intellectual for a nearly 5 year old.  He has an amazing imagination and thirst for knowledge.  He truly wants to be  a good boy and would never think of getting in trouble at school.

He is also sensitive.  When he misbehaves and is punished, Parker looks at me, tears in eyes, like I have crushed his spirit.  It has taken a while for me to toughen to this reaction and follow through with disciplining him when need be.  But with Parker, a stern word and hard glance can sometimes do the trick.

Leah, though still too young for us to fully see what kind of little person she will become, does have strong likes and dislikes.  She is great sleeper - something I thought was baby myth until now.   She is also amazing at entertaining herself.  (Perhaps a requirement of being the third born?)  She loves a soft blanket, and at just three months old, I find her pulling her blanket in her car seat or swing up against her cheek.  So sweet.
However Leah doesn't like to take a bottle or a pacifier of any kind.  My mother-in-law often says that Leah is a lot like her Daddy.  Not only does she look like Luke, but he too was a blankie baby.  I suggested that perhaps that is the problem.  While we are offering her breast milk in a bottle, she would actually prefer bourbon and a hot dog like her dad.  Hmmm....

AND THEN THERE IS RYDER.  Ryder is such an affectionate child.  His sweetness and affection to absolutely everyone is my favorite quality in this little guy.  I love to see him hug his friends and kiss them. (often on the lips, which leads back to my previous post about strep throat.)  Ryder is VERY strong willed.  This translates to what he eats, what he wears, and every other aspect of daily life.  He believes he is never wrong.  He takes punishment for bad behavior with a grain of salt, and sees losing certain privileges, spanking, or sitting in time-out as simply a stumbling block on the road to getting his way.

The past few mornings Ryder has gone into complete meltdown mode over something ridiculous (or at least ridiculous to me.)  Yesterday it was gloves.  Today it was a toy he wanted to take to preschool that I didn't allow.  As the clock is ticking, Parker needs to be at pre-k, Leah is locked in her car seat, I eventually pick up my 3-year-old, kicking and screaming, and place him in his car seat.  He fights me every second.  What am I supposed to do?  Parker can't be late because of his brother's tantrum.  I am certainly not giving in and letting Ryder win either.

I swore I would never have a child that behaved this way.  Ha.  I keep trying new methods of avoiding these meltdowns.  Of course, they always happen when I am solo with no husband for back-up.  So if you hear a child shrieking about pajamas, chocolate milk, or unzipping his coat, it's probably Ryder.


 I pray his strong personality will make him one amazing, independent man someday.  I also pray that I will survive parenting Ryder through the teen years to see him become a man.