Thursday, March 02, 2006

I Have HAD IT!!!

***Disclaimer*** I love my sweet boy soooo very much. I just think that sometimes as a Mom I have to let it all out.
Okay, so, how do I ease into this!!?? Asher has been driving me crazy lately!!!! I don't know if this is a normal stage for a six year old or if it is due to his having PDD-NOS.

First of all, Asher absolutely does not listen to me anymore. I cannot tell you how many times a day I have to ask him to do the simplest of tasks. Which leads me to my second point, DOING TASKS!!! It is seriously like pulling teeth just to have Asher go through the morning routines. Three hours later, after several time outs and lost privileges, Asher is finally ready to face the day. Not only do I feel very frustrated, I feel like a terrible mother. I feel like I am constantly punishing Asher. This makes me very sad for our relationship. I love him so much.

So, after wallowing in my self pity for a while, I decided to pull out my favorite parenting book, "Love and Logic" and read it again. I have also devised a simple chart/reward system to (hopefully) motivate Asher to take care of these tasks on his own . . . without my constant nagging. Here is the chart;

Asher and I went to the store today and bought stickers and prizes to get him geared up. I know that some of you might be thinking, "well, duh"!! LOL!! As a Psychology major, I am disappointed to admit that sometimes I am the last one to catch on to certain parenting methods!

I really hope that this approach works. Otherwise, my neighbors might find me running through the streets, in the middle of the night, naked, pregnant, and pulling my hair out! I will have to let you know what happens.

4 comments:

Patti said...

I haven't heard of PDD either, but I worked as a therapist for autistic children for 2 years, and I know how emotionally draining it can be. I am sure you are not a terrible mother, you are probably wonderful. And good for you for trying a new method!

Zoe said...

Bav, I am so sorry about the hitting thing . . . but I guess that it could be worse. I have a friend whose little boy bites her . . . and draws blood!! Maybe it is some odd form of affection!

Nutella- thanks for understanding. :)

smart mama said...

I have a 5 yr old in the same stage-- in fact the morning routine chart on the back of his door is almost identical -- except - we have clean room (instead of pick up clothes) and do hair (he has curly hair that needs spray bottle attnetion each day!)-- he is very parent deaf at the moment-- and i hate being nagmaster mom --the PDD I am sure only adds to the frustration- COURAGE -Motherhood is for the brave!!

smart mama said...

sure- CCLS- does psychological preparation and therapuetic play, stress coping interventiosn with children and families in hospitals or trauma, healthcare, etc settings-- so basically the lady that runs hospital playrooms for inpatient kids, does teaching (what to expect when having a lumbar puncture-- e.g. using a cloth doll to demonstrate), and psych support advocating for child/family centered developmentally appropriate care

we've had a few friends with kids with pdd dxes and A. spectrum dxes-