Is there such a thing as the Terrible Sevens??? How about The Sinister Sevens? The Snarky Sevens? Whatever it is, my 7 year-old is really trying to stretch his little boundaries as to what he can and can't get away with. And let me tell you, it has led to a lot of headbutting and deep breathing (at least, there is a lot of deep breathing on my part). I am trying (sometimes desperately) to keep my chin up and know and understand that he is, really, just a boy who is figuring out what he needs to do in order to get it right (or, in some cases, to get it completely and utterly wrong).
We seem to be at an age where is there a LOT of use of the word NO...which I am coming to completely despise. I don't like hearing the word NO any given day to begin with (I really like to get my way in things), and to hear it from a 40 lb. little boy, well, there's no describing the ire I feel at that moment. This, of course, is leading to some lengthy time-outs and periods of being grounded. All I can say is that sometimes, he's lucky he's cute.
The Hubs and I are really trying a new tactic of hugging rather than yelling. We notice that The Monk tends to chill out more if we hug him when we are most upset with him, than if we holler at him to get him to do what we want. It doesn't always work, but it is leading The Hubs and I down a path where we aren't nearly as stressed out. Still, there are times when a holler leaks out and leads to a time-out (more for our own sanity).
I know that this is just a phase (right?!?) and that he'll outgrown his tantrums and such...at least for a couple of years before he become a teenager. I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it...
We seem to be at an age where is there a LOT of use of the word NO...which I am coming to completely despise. I don't like hearing the word NO any given day to begin with (I really like to get my way in things), and to hear it from a 40 lb. little boy, well, there's no describing the ire I feel at that moment. This, of course, is leading to some lengthy time-outs and periods of being grounded. All I can say is that sometimes, he's lucky he's cute.
The Hubs and I are really trying a new tactic of hugging rather than yelling. We notice that The Monk tends to chill out more if we hug him when we are most upset with him, than if we holler at him to get him to do what we want. It doesn't always work, but it is leading The Hubs and I down a path where we aren't nearly as stressed out. Still, there are times when a holler leaks out and leads to a time-out (more for our own sanity).
I know that this is just a phase (right?!?) and that he'll outgrown his tantrums and such...at least for a couple of years before he become a teenager. I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it...