We then heard a loud knocking noise . . . BAM! BAM! BAM! Perhaps, it was the UPS man, knocking at the front door. But we were not expecting any packages. I thought, that sound is coming from the girls’ bedroom. We hurried to the bedroom, opened the door to discover . . . Katie knocking at the door, trying to get out of the bedroom. Talk about "a strong-willed child."
But wait, how did she . . . huh?! I thought to myself, her state-of-the-art baby bed has been specifically designed by some of the world's greatest engineers, so as to keep her contained in "the time-out position." Nannette had the ingenious idea, let's put her back into the bed, so we can see how she got from the bed to the door. Within 60 seconds, Katie hoisted one of her exceedingly short legs all the way over the railing. Then, the second leg . . . while at the same time holding on with both hands, as she backed her way down to the floor. It was as though she were Lebron James returning to earth from a tomahawk dunk. The amazement with which we gazed upon this scary scene was as though we were going down the hill of the world's tallest roller coaster. We then began a laugh so robust, we almost burst into tears of hilarity.Lessons Learned:
1. Be careful where you put your child for a time-out.
2. Toddlers have a determination that is unequaled, and they're not afraid to take risks, no matter who's watching.
3. The mind of a toddler is replete with creativity. They think outside the bed . . . I mean, box.
4. If the aforementioned determination and creativity can be properly channeled and developed, our children will grow into adults who will change this world, for the better.
Remember, the same is true of the youth we serve here at Seven Counties. We simply need to have ears to listen for the BAM! BAM! BAM! of their hearts.
Check out Seven Counties' web page at sevencounties.org, and learn more about services for children!
2 comments:
Mr Bowman,
You know that does not surprise me. Kids have the darndest ways of getting past what we set as safety nets for them. My daughter Lilyann, is 6 1/2 years old and it can be hard to disipline her. You can take away TV, toys, computer, and anything else you can think of as punishment and she still finds ways to play. Even though she is ADHD, she is very smart, clever, and defiant all rolled into one. Sometimes it is not always the medicine, it is the child. Time out can work at times but then you have a head strong child who thinks they are grown a lot of the time and it makes it very difficult to find punishments to fit the acted out behavior. You can get to the point you want to pull out all your hair (If you have hair. You find yourself taking a time out. I even try time in where everyone has to get punished for what she has done wrong. It does not always work, I just continue to try different things and work with her. Kids are amazingly getting to big for their own britches and you just have keep getting creative with them to keep them on the correct path. I encourage all parents not to give up, keep trying, and keep getting creative no mtter how bad things seem to get.
I always say to my friends with toddlers..."it takes a team of adults to outsmart one toddler"...and even then it doesn't always work! LOL, good article Joel.
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