Endurance

Ever since we've moved into the apartment, and with all the changes going on in general, I've noticed that Brent's been getting a little out of hand on certain things. The main issues being meals and bedtime, and I'm not sure which was worse. Every day was a battle on both counts, and left us both frustrated and grumpy too much of the time. I'm not the best routine-setting parent, nor am I good at enforcing things. But lately he's been taking hours to get to sleep, and then waking up during the night hungry (because he refused to eat his dinner - wanting only a biscuit most days).

So I decided enough was enough. The battle of wills was ON. It went something like this:

Day One:
Okay, Brent, here's your lunch today. Now this is all you're getting, and we're going to sit here until you've finished it, no matter how long it takes.
"I don't LIKE lunch!!!"
Well, this is what we're having. So let's eat.
"I don't know HOW to eat!!"
--3 hours later --
Now see! That wasn't so bad! Great job! Now we can have fun and play!

Dinner went better. I clocked it at 2 hours. He was getting hoarse from the screaming too, so it wasn't as loud.

For bedtime, we started our routine of getting our jammies on, reading some books...and then I would turn off the light and lay and talk to him for a few minutes before leaving. The former routine, of letting him watch tv until he crashed, was obviously not the best. But he was addicted to it like crack, so I knew this would be tough. I had unplugged it earlier, knowing he'd just turn it on once I left the room.

So we did our thing, and he pretended like he was going to go to sleep. I left the room.

(30 seconds later)
"Moooooooommmeeeeee!!! The tv is broken!"
No, honey, it's not. We're not watching tv any more at bedtime.

I lifted him up and tucked him in again and left. Screaming ensued. Toys were thrown at the walls. It was unpleasant. Finally after about an hour, it was quiet. Success!!

Day 2:
Lunch only took one hour of fussing. Dinner, 30 minutes. Bedtime, 10 minutes.

Day 3:
School day, so no lunch battles, but dinner went as smooth as could be. And when bedtime came, and we finished reading, I gave him a kiss on the forehead. He just looked at me and said "I'm closing my eyes to go to sleep mommy", and off he went.

And I know anyone with kids and half a brain who reads this will be all ...DUH...of course you have to set limits and not let them test you all the time. But I've always been SO bad at listening to him cry, and I'm such a sucker for his manipulation ploys. So, I'm really pleased that we've gotten through this and life will be a little smoother now. Score 1 for the team!