My Biggest Mistake....
My biggest mistake is something I do every single morning. I know better, but some things are beyond my control.
If I could take it back, I would. The consequences tend to be nuclear, I should have learned by now.
Waking up my son every morning is one of my daily regrets. By the time 9:10 rolls around and I have him safely delivered to school, I am exhausted. We have the same struggle every morning which begs the question, "Why do I put myself through this agony?"
His litany of reasons why he can't or won't get up are varied in their content and complexity. This has gone way beyond the standard, "I'm sick." He has graduated to reasons that are borderline genius.
It ranges from,
"I couldn't sleep because I was too hungry."
Followed by....
"I won't be able to say the Pledge of Allegiance because every time I end up crying because I don't like to talk out loud in public."
See what I mean? This struggle is real, my friends.
Other times he will take the emotional route because honestly, he knows how to play me.
"I miss daddy."
"I don't have any friends."
"This school is too hard."
My routine is fairly simple every morning with my son. I go about it with a gentle approach and then up the ante as needed. I start with a cheery,
"Time to get up!"
Then...
"I have hot cocoa and oatmeal ready!"
Moving on to....
"You really need to work with me on this, I need you to take some responsibility here."
(This results in tears and a muffled "NO" from under the pillow.)
Finally morphing into...
"I'm holding your favorite stuffed animal hostage unless you get up."
That one is the nail in the coffin and he finally starts getting with the program, albeit very slowly.
Whether or not the last threat will require future therapy remains to be seen. At this point I'm out of options. Although it's only a matter of time before I'm gonna go straight for the hostage threat, damn the gentle approach..
If I could take it back, I would. The consequences tend to be nuclear, I should have learned by now.
Waking up my son every morning is one of my daily regrets. By the time 9:10 rolls around and I have him safely delivered to school, I am exhausted. We have the same struggle every morning which begs the question, "Why do I put myself through this agony?"
His litany of reasons why he can't or won't get up are varied in their content and complexity. This has gone way beyond the standard, "I'm sick." He has graduated to reasons that are borderline genius.
It ranges from,
"I couldn't sleep because I was too hungry."
Followed by....
"I won't be able to say the Pledge of Allegiance because every time I end up crying because I don't like to talk out loud in public."
See what I mean? This struggle is real, my friends.
Other times he will take the emotional route because honestly, he knows how to play me.
"I miss daddy."
"I don't have any friends."
"This school is too hard."
My routine is fairly simple every morning with my son. I go about it with a gentle approach and then up the ante as needed. I start with a cheery,
"Time to get up!"
Then...
"I have hot cocoa and oatmeal ready!"
Moving on to....
"You really need to work with me on this, I need you to take some responsibility here."
(This results in tears and a muffled "NO" from under the pillow.)
Finally morphing into...
"I'm holding your favorite stuffed animal hostage unless you get up."
That one is the nail in the coffin and he finally starts getting with the program, albeit very slowly.
Whether or not the last threat will require future therapy remains to be seen. At this point I'm out of options. Although it's only a matter of time before I'm gonna go straight for the hostage threat, damn the gentle approach..
He's playing you. You just have to be the strong one and make him get moving by any means necessary.
ReplyDeleteYeah I'd have to say I agree with Scott. Tell him the night before that you're done with #1-3 and will be starting with the tough stuff. Maybe adding going to bed at 7:00 would help him to see that you're serious about wanting to help him get a good sleep so he can wake up on his own.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I found you Dalai Mama! And I just want to give your little one a hug, which shows how good he is since he can wrap me around his little finger via the internet. My kind of people!
ReplyDelete