My Mommyology

Learning from Motherhood.

March 10, 2013
by mymommyology
2 Comments

A Deeper Understanding on the Importance of Vaccines

Every month for the last six months (It’s been 6 months already?!  Goodness…) I’ve had to take the kids to the pediatrician to complete their vaccine shots (he only gives one shot per visit).  Apparently the required vaccines are different from those that we had in Chapel Hill, so even if Sam is 4 and technically should be complete with her requirements, there are still a few that she needs now that we live here (ie – they were no longer optional).  Her pediatrician explained that because of the different environmental and health concerns and risks, the required list of vaccines here in Manila is much longer than that of the US.

It never occurred to me that would be the case but it makes sense after all.  And there are two layers to this realization:  the first was that I’d always taken vaccination for granted; it was a given, there was no escaping it.  The second and more important one, was that even if I knew it had to be done, I didn’t understand the what’s and the why’s or the how’s.

For as long as I can remember, we had to go to the pediatrician’s office to get pricked, no questions asked.  When I was five, my mom took me for my shot.  I held back the tears because I was promised a lollipop after, only to find out that the doctor gave my mom my lollipop because she passed out from seeing the needle.  That was the only association I had with a vaccine shot.  Eventually, I learned to let my mom wait outside and brave the pricks on my own so that I could claim my much deserved lollipop.

When I became a mom and had my girls, I didn’t question it either.  The nurse at our pediatric office gave me a brochure:  shots A, B, C and Z were needed at these well-visit milestones, and all I had to do was make sure we were there at the date and time specified.  Cool.  I trusted that our pedias knew best (and at least when it comes to vaccines, I really hope that they do!).

So everything would have been fine, except as I mentioned, Sam still lacked some crucial vaccine shots.  And every time we’d tell her we had to go get them, she’d cry about it for days in anticipation.  “Why mom?!  I don’t want a pinch.  I don’t need a pinch!”  Oh great.  The defiant dramatic toddler was not going to make it easy for me.   Granted that she was being brought to these visits against her consent she did have every right to ask.  I will admit while I didn’t know much about it, I was now pressured to learn and talk to her truthfully about it.

Thankfully, we are friends with Janice of Mommy Mundo, and she invited the SoMoms (and our kids!) to the launch of their disease awareness raising campaign, sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline.  The event was entitled PLAY, which stands for Protection, Love and Activities for Young Kids.  True to its name and purpose the event was educational, yet fun as it brought awareness of some of the infectious diseases through play.  It was a great way to enlighten parents on the seriousness of needing vaccines without much of the scare factor.

The Pneumoniacs!' game table.

The Pneumoniacs!’ game table.

The moms (and dad) in attendance competed in teams to complete puzzles, answer trivia questions and go on a scavenger hunt.  All the clues and questions were related to the diseases we learned about:  IPD or Invasive Pneumoccocal Disease and Otitis Media (both of which can be prevented through vaccination).  My team, the Pneumoniacs! won a few rounds (who knew we could be so competitive?).   I guess that means we were really listening huh? 😉

Amidst all the fun and games, my nerdiness kicked into gear and I listened to Dr. Carmina Delos Reyes’ presentation.  I was surprised and shocked at the same time with some of the facts that I picked up (and I will only name the ones that stood out to me):

  • One child dies from pneumonia every 20 seconds;
  • The Philippines ranks in the top ten countries globally for total number of pneumococcal diseases in children less than 5 years of age; and
  • Pneumonia is the #1 cause of death amongst Filipino children.

My mind started racing because a few months back, Jamie was hospitalized for pneumonia.  I was quick to check if she’d been vaccinated for it.  Yes we were covered.  Whew!  I don’t even want to think of the horrors of what could have happened had we not gotten the vaccine (and to this day, I cannot believe that some parents would rather have vaccines administered even with these facts!).  But as our pediatrician told me the other day (I will get to why we went to see him in a bit), Jamie’s case was very mild and thankfully we caught it at the beginning stages.  She was “far from serious”, he said.

Related to IPD is Otitis Media (OM), which is an inflammation of the ear drum, or acutely an ear infection; and this was the reason we braved the rush hour traffic to get to our pediatrician.  Jamie had a funky smell in her right ear and kept tugging at it.  It didn’t seem like she was in pain, but I still thought to text our doctor anyway in the likelihood that it was the beginning of an ear infection.  She had experienced several growing up and so I figured it wasn’t a far off possibility.  I used the local term when I contacted him, luga (pronounced loo-gah), and immediately he freaked out and said we needed to see him.  Her eardrum may be ruptured and that could result in hearing loss (which is the worst consequence of untreated OM).

Of course I panicked.  Of course.  And so while Jamie napped in preparation for our trip, I pulled out the PLAY presentation on Otitis Media and read it again.  Apparently, 1 out of 2 Filipino children suffering from rhinitis also suffer from OM.  It makes sense — as the inner ear workings are connected to the sinus parts of our body (and Jamie was experiencing some sniffles).  Although I was reassured when I checked the girls’ charts and saw they’d already gotten the vaccines for it.

I confirmed twenty hours later (or so it felt like it) Jamie’s eardrum was fine, it wasn’t an ear infection (and she hadn’t gotten one since she completed the vaccines for it too!).  It was a build up of mucous that got stuck somehow and could easily be cleared with ear drops for several days.  I say it again – Whew!

While I am a panicky person when it comes to my children’s health, I think I can sleep much easier knowing that the girls are getting the vaccines they need to be able to operate in this polluted world on a normal basis.  It does help to understand the what’s and the why’s and the how’s, and the positive consequences that come with vaccinating our kids.  Instead of being a passive parent, I can engage our doctors more and ask the right questions.  I also have a little bit more confidence behind the answers I give to Sam.  I don’t go into specific details just yet (maybe when she’s older).  But for now I tell her that the little pinches she gets are for her to be able to PLAY, without much worry.

***

Thank you Mommy Mundo and GlaxoSmithKline for an enlightening and fun afternoon!  If you want to learn more about the campaign, visit http://www.mommymundo.com/vaccinate.

March 2, 2013
by mymommyology
7 Comments

Yes, That Is My Child

Everyone who sees Jamie says she is such a sweet, innocent little girl.   Because she’s petite and generally timid when people first meet her, they think she is quiet and well-behaved.  Well, she is — most of the time.  What they don’t often see or know, is Jamie throws the meanest most ear-piercing tantrums you can imagine (I swear, she gets her temperament from her father! ;)).  She lurches backward or forward onto the floor and wails or screams.  Loudly.  Occasionally, she’ll kick up her feet and when you (I) try to carry her, we often end up in more of a struggle because she throws a counter-weight to all your (my) efforts.

Well, at least the floor gets cleaned.

Well, at least the floor gets cleaned.

All of this new to me, because I never had to deal with these kinds of tantrums with Sam.  At least not in public.  It seems though that Jamie doesn’t care when or where she chooses to throw a fit, as such is her personality.  It happened earlier today too, while we were waiting outside Sam’s ballet class.  Jamie decided 30 minutes into our stay that none of the activities I brought (or thought of) were satisfying enough for her.  The whining started and eventually she went all out and rolled on the floor (good heavens the germs!).  When I tried to coax her off with other distractions, she just shrieked and screamed and cried even louder.  To be very honest, I was just too tired (from a constant lack of sleep and from carrying her all day yesterday, among other things) to try harder, so I let her cry and wail (and yes, roll) to her heart’s content, while I sat quietly and watched.  Funny enough, she’d occasionally stop to look and see if I was watching, and when I’d calmly ask her if she was done, she’d say “no”, and then resume her wailing.

Of course I got the stares from practically everyone who could hear her 100-decibel shrieks from across the hall.  Some glanced at me and smiled sympathetically, others were trying to make light of it by calling out to her and saying, “poor baby, why…” (I seriously ask:  What does that even DO?!), and some couldn’t feign the horrified shocked look they had that a child was allowed to do this, and worse yet — the mother wasn’t doing anything.  I could even sense that our yaya was getting embarrassed — for Jamie’s or for my behavior, I don’t know.  She tried to pick Jamie up but each time Jamie would see her approach, she’d screech all the more, so the yaya eventually backed away.  I could even see my husband’s reaction in my head — he would’ve been quite embarrassed for us all too and I probably would have gotten an earful.  Thankfully, he skipped ballet today.

Maybe it was the fatigue, and maybe it’s because I’ve had to deal with this routine a thousand times already, that I just didn’t care.  In fact when new people would pass us, they’d glance at Jamie and then they’d look around as if they were looking for the irresponsible parent allowing such a public display to occur, I voluntarily raised my hand and acknowledged, “yes, that is my child.”  

There wasn’t much I could do because we had to wait for Sam to finish her class.  I couldn’t leave and bring her to the car.  I did make several attempts to distract her but they were all in vain.  I also didn’t want to reprimand her in front of everyone.  Even if tantrums are quite a handful for the parents, I still thought about why they happen.  I know Jamie is totally over-tired, the poor thing (my lack of sleep is a result of her lack of sleep too), so she was most probably acting out because of it.

I also believe that sometimes, like in this particular situation, it’s good to let them “cry it out” (Now please take that phrase into context!).  You know how sometimes you have all this emotion that you don’t know what to do with, but then after a good cry, you feel much better that it’s all been released?  I just felt that was what she needed, instead of getting hushed and the feelings repressed.  She wasn’t hurting herself or anyone (apart from their eardrums) anyway.  Later today Jamie ate a better lunch and napped better so I do feel I made the right call.

As for the well-meaning folk that throw sympathetic glances and the horrified looks, or try to keep the peace by making her stop; thank you, but no thank you.  The advice I would give (unless you are close to the child throwing a tantrum or to their parents), is to try harder and ignore it.  If I were in your shoes (and believe me I have been many times), that’s what I would do.  I wouldn’t even let the mother apologize for her child’s behavior (unless of course it hurt one of my own – again, context!).  It’s just simply a part of parenting a toddler.  Kids Jamie’s age express their feelings in the ways they know how, and some of them will throw the most embarrassing tantrums ever.  I promise if I am there, I will give you the benefit of the doubt, just as I would like done for me.

Yes, she is my child.  And don’t worry; contrary to how things may seem, I know what I’m doing.

 

February 26, 2013
by mymommyology
9 Comments

Learning to Read and Speak Filipino

Summer is fast approaching and I’ve been thinking of activities to keep the girls preoccupied for the majority of it.  While a part of me feels that it would be nice to have them home for a change, I realize that a few weeks of that may drive me (or them!) up the wall.  As it stands, there are days when I have them both home with me all day and by the time the afternoon hits I’m ready to collapse.  So yes, summer activities are on the list!

Jamie will most likely take the summer program in her school.  It’s a great program after all, and I figure that she needs to maintain her familiarity with the place.  I can imagine what 10 weeks of not being in that environment will do to her separation anxiety.  It’s also the time she can get to know her future teachers for the following school year; so it seems like the most logical choice.

Sam will still have her ballet, Kumon and probably some swimming lessons if we can squeeze it in.  She is interested in taking summer at Jamie’s school (with the older kids of course), and that will cover her request for art classes.  I hear that their summer classes are very heavy in terms of art; and it’s an opportunity for the girls to be together in the same school.

All these activities are great and will definitely keep the girls busy.  The one thing I’m missing though, is that their isn’t an activity that will teach them how to speak and read Filipino.  My husband used to tell me I should teach them how to speak, read and write in our vernacular, and I took it for granted.  I said they’d learn anyway since we speak it at home, in the same way that they picked up the English language (and a tad bit of the Spanish I’d interject into our conversations every now and then).  I recently realized that English came so naturally because all the books and the TV shows they were exposed to complimented what they heard on a regular basis.  We would even watch and read some books in Spanish, like the ones of Dora for instance.  Yet, they weren’t watching TV shows or reading books in Filipino.  There was no follow through.

So, I’ve decided that for this summer, I will consciously teach them how to read and speak Filipino.  Sam knows a few words from her lessons in school, so it should quite natural to continue, especially if we make it a fun learning experience.  Jamie picks up words here and there but she’s never had any formal instruction.  In any case, she loves whatever her Ate does so I’m sure she’ll want to join in the fun too.  And it serves a double purpose, since Jamie is also picking up new words to read; why shouldn’t they be in her native language?  I’m a believer in teaching them a second (and even a third) language at an early age because it helps stimulate and exercise their brains a lot more.

Of course the best tools to use are Filipino children’s books.  My girls love books and they are a part of our daily lives.  I started my search for the said books back in Chapel Hill, but only a few titles were available on Amazon.  Now that we’re home though, we have access to the wealth of locally published titles from Tahanan Books.  In fact my friend Fran who works there, invited me (along with some of the other SoMoms) to the book launch of sequels to two popular Filipino Classics, Bugtong Bugtong 2 (translated:  Flilipino Riddles), and Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang Vol 2 (translated:  The Tales / Stories of Grandma Basyang).   I thought it was perfect timing and so I went in the hopes of finding material to work with.

The Tahanan Books Paper bag and the book marks with excerpts from each book

The Tahanan Books Paper bag and the book marks with excerpts from each book

Filipino Riddles!  Gosh.  I still remember a lesson we had in our Filipino class eons ago.  The teacher would read out a riddle and we had to guess the answer.  I failed that session because I just couldn’t get it.  I hope I’m doing my girls a favor by getting them both volumes and starting them on it early!

That's Daniel Tayona actually signing my book!

That’s Daniel Tayona actually signing my book!

I even had the books signed by the Author & Illustrator Daniel Tayona (and I have to say – I LOVE author-signed books!  I hope my girls appreciate the value of that when they grow up!).  He chatted with us for a while too and said that he does love kids and loves to entertain them, thus the ability to think up 57 new riddles.  They are about the adventures of his dog named Oskar as he roams the house and the fields playfully encountering adventures and objects.

Tahanan Books gifted us with a copy of the Lola Basyang book as well, and co-editor Christine Bellen was nice enough to sign that for the girls.  The book is actually for older children who like to read about magical lands, maidens, dragons and other fantastical tales, but I was happy to take my signed copy home and keep it for the future.  Besides, I’d never really sat and read the stories of Lola Basyang myself, so maybe I’d take a crack at it (and improve my Filipino along the way!).

Fran brought other copies of the titles that they carry (and of course I happily purchased them all) – simple Filipino books that Sam and Jamie can appreciate and follow as beginners.  I’ve shared them with the girls and we alternate the books with some of the favorite English ones we read at night.  Sam will work through a few of the bugtongs (riddles) in front of the mirror — because the answer key is an upside-down mirror image.  She also tries to guess what each word means based on the illustration and her current Filipino vocabulary.  Jamie is picking up a few words and phrases along the way, but hopefully she too will appreciate reading the material.  In any case, it gives me a good jump off point for how or what our fun Filipino home lessons will be this summer, and I’m suddenly quite excited about it!  Wish me luck! 🙂

***

Bugtong Bugtong 2 and Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang are all available at National Bookstore, Powerbooks and Fully Booked branches.  You can also visit the Tahanan books website for these and other interesting titles.

February 20, 2013
by mymommyology
7 Comments

Pillow Talk

When Sam was younger, our bedtime routine would drag on for hours.  At a certain point we’d close the lights but we’d continue talking about her day, reliving every step, conversation, joke and song.  While I wanted my day to be over (since I was with Sam when she went through the actual live experience), I’d just want her to lie down and sleep (so that the rest of my day could go on).  On the contrary, my husband who would only catch a glimpse of our day at this point, would enjoy it and want it to go on forever.  He also said that it helped Sam exercise the memory cells in her brain (I don’t know if there is any scientific truth to that – he just believed it.  And maybe it did help, because Sam has an excellent memory to date).

That part of the routine changed when Jamie was born, since Sam now had to learn to be quiet and lie still when the lights went out.  Somehow we gradually moved that part of our evening to dinner time or during bath time, which worked well too since Dad had to pitch in a lot more  while I nursed Jamie to no end.

I realized as I tried to merge their evening routines, I was always racing against time to get the lights out.  I wanted Sam to have enough nighttime sleep because she’d started to drop her nap; and Jamie at that point in the day was also already overstimulated and overtired, so we needed to get everyone down and fast!  I nursed Jamie to sleep.  Admittedly it was the easiest (and most efficient) way to complete the routine.  We’d gotten used to lights out, prayer and then silence (as much as possible).

I’ve recently started the process of weaning Jamie after almost two years of breastfeeding, and I had difficulty dissociating the nursing from the falling asleep part.  The more I think about it, that’s all she’s known for the last twenty-three months, it’s second-nature to her already.  My husband isn’t much help in this area —  he can’t stand Jamie crying for “Mommy’s milk!”, and impatiently tells me to just give in already.  “She’ll do it eventually.”  I honestly don’t believe it will happen that simply — much less miraculously — unless I take conscious steps to change it.  Small baby steps of course.

The book that I hope will help me wean Jamie fully...

The book that I hope will help me wean Jamie fully…

A couple of nights ago I consulted my ever reliable doula KK and she pointed me to Elizabeth Pantley’s No-Cry Sleep Solution (For Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers).  I am taking notes as I go and forming a plan in my head but in the meantime, I’ve made some haphazard attempts towards the weaning process.

KK told me that I could start with the naps and thankfully that was relatively painless (Whew!).  She also said that the first step was to make a clear distinction between the time for breastfeeding and the time for lying down to sleep.  She also assured me that of course there would be crying.  It’s inevitable — introducing a change will encounter protest, but a loving approach can minimize that and remove any potential trauma to both mother and child.

We currently don’t have a chair in our bedroom that will fit a nursing Jamie and myself comfortably (other than the girls’ playroom chairs – but I don’t fit there to begin with), so I started by just propping myself on pillows and sitting up on the bed.  That killed my back after a few tries and so we were back to nursing and lying down.

In the past, Jamie would go back and forth on each side until she fell asleep, but I had enough willpower to limit her feeds to one time for each side and cut it short there.  In the first few days she shrieked her head off until she fell asleep (note:  I would hug and reassure her the entire time that she was a big girl and didn’t need my milk anymore…), but I knew I had to get her to stop crying faster (since it stresses my husband out as you know).

Then I realized that Jamie would unlatch herself willingly if she wanted to say something to me.  And so when I’d feel the let-down slow, I began to prompt her with questions.  Eventually she didn’t notice that she’d stop nursing to talk to me and from there we would listen to music and fall asleep.  By the time we start talking, the lights would’ve been out for a while as Sam (and oftentimes, her dad) would’ve had a head start into snooze-land.

This is our pink ladybug with blue, red or green stars. :)

This is our pink ladybug with blue, red or green stars. 🙂

In the dark under our Ladybug stars night lite, it would feel like just Jamie and me.  She would climb directly on top of me and answer my questions about her day or listen to me whisper stories and facts in her ear. We’d talk about her friends, her books (The Gruffalo is a favorite these days) or the songs she learned.  Most nights, I’d  “teach” Jamie different facts like shape descriptions, or the colors and the numbers in Spanish.  Sometimes it’s a new song, or the basic addition table or the phonetic spelling of words.  I think she absorbs it because on random occasions she can answer me when I ask her a question, and that’s encouraging.  I get her to stop crying AND she learns new things along the way!

Lately I’ve considered it as one of the highlights of my day.  It’s also because, alone time with Jamie is rare when I’m home with both girls.  And I’d also been feeling some mom-guilt about not being able to teach her as much and as regularly as I did with Sam.  I don’t mean to compare the girls, but they do have the same mother, and I was hoping to give them the same opportunities to be fair (Then again, life isn’t fair, is it?).  I feel better that my nightly pillow conversations with Jamie have eased that guilt somehow.

Jamie isn’t fully weaned yet (when she wakes up in the wee hours of the morning, she still nurses), but it is a step in the right direction.  I’ll take what I can at this point.  And I am slowly beginning to discover what consistently works in calming her down.

After a typically long and exhausting day, I like those quiet moments in bed.  It’s a like a slumber party with my best friend only she’s two years old.  It’s both relaxing and tiring (try staying awake while putting someone to sleep!) but I can’t deny that I like the extra snuggle time I get with my little girl.  In reality she’s not-so-little anymore.  I’m in no hurry to make that go away anytime soon.

 

February 14, 2013
by mymommyology
0 comments

Drama and Defiance

My life these days is filled with what I call “drama and defiance”.  Apparently with a four-year old and an almost two-year old — both girls — it is a way of life.  And for moms like me, a daily dose of drama and defiance is a deadly combination!

EpicMom says it best!

EpicMom says it best!

Everyone in the world talks about the terrible two’s.  More than any other age in fact.  It’s a well-known phrase:  The Terrible Two’s.  There’s always some form of dread or fear when you know you’re moving out of the “adorable one’s” (that’s just my own coined term), into… The Terrible Two’s (cue horror music).

My theory is that most people find the said age “terrible” because it comes right after such a fun one.  After the highly dependent infant stage when you’re so busy deciphering what their cries mean (It’s simple enough if you’ve gotten enough sleep… but is there any mother out there that ever does?!) comes the fun 12-18 months stage.  Exciting stuff happens; they begin to walk, communicate and interact a whole lot more.  It’s all new and fun.  They’re still toothless (for the most part), and absolutely adorable.  So jumping from that stage to the next when suddenly, they know they have a voice and they use it.  We parents also can’t help ourselves — we instinctively react the most to the things that are off-limits (like a shrieking parent who sees their child sticking her fingers in an electrical socket).  You don’t know what to expect yet.  I guess all I’m saying is that I understand it can be “terrible”.

With Sam though, I don’t remember it being that difficult, or that painful to go through.  It could have a lot to do with her personality, and I am lucky enough if it is, but probably also because I spent most of my waking hours with her and could anticipate what she wanted or needed before we hit tantrum-ville.  I knew that Sam responded well to transition time, where if she had a fair amount of warning, there would hardly be a struggle.

I am still figuring out the best tactic with Jamie.  She’s not even two but she does act like one (seeing as how she learns from her sister).  She is my highly temperamental daughter (a temper I think she inherited from her Dad).  She shrieks and screams and rolls on the floor when she does not like what she hears, such as getting out of the bath or having to share a toy.  She’s very adamant when she says “No!” and it takes a whole lot of coaxing, reasoning and creative thinking for me to get her to concede, if I am at all successful.  Sometimes, I just pick her up and let her shriek and twist and turn, and eventually she stops when the distraction is right.  We do what we gotta do, right?

That said, I also know Jamie recognizes her own limits.  She will say what she feels or needs when she feels or needs them – a change of diaper, food, sleep and the like.  So for me, the drama and defiance hit when she chooses to fight the fatigue and hunger, which isn’t often (fingers crossed).  And with that in mind — I still think maybe the two’s aren’t so terrible after all.

At least, not if you compare them to the four’s.

Now I will start by saying that the wonderful thing about Sam is that she is absolutely intelligent.  She is a strong person and she has a mind of her own.  My husband and I agree that this will serve her well as an adult!  As her mother however, who has to deal with the roller coaster emotional ups and downs, the negotiations, the endless reasoning and just the all-out plain defiance (with a sulk or a march away to boot!)… it is A LOT!  She outsmarts me at every turn, hands down.

Rarely does she comply without some form of protest.  “But Mom…!” or, “No after I finish this first...” or, “No this is better, I know it.”  Sometimes, it’s just the mental gymnastics with the endless, “But WHY mom..?”  I’m very conscious about limiting the times I use “Just because” or “Because I said so”.  As Coach Pia advised, the child should understand the reason behind the rule and not simply associate it with the parent.  I really make an effort to explain things to her and give her valid honest-to-goodness reasons.   I have to stay one step ahead of her because she always has a counter-reason that makes more sense in her mind (I am proud though of her reasoning and deductive skills!  I just wish she’d use it more on other people than on me).

Oh. How familiar is this scene.

Oh. How familiar is this scene.

When there is conflict or when she doesn’t like an outcome (let’s say, sharing the iPad with Jamie who wants to play another game), there’s this whole drama where she frowns or starts to weep and hangs her head down.  Then she runs to her room or walks away to a corner and sulks.  Sulks!  Sam even has lines like, “I don’t want to live with you anymore mom.” ( She’s never said she doesn’t love me though!  Haha!)Other times, it’s just an all out wail, particularly when she’s trying to be heard above Jamie’s own wails.  And yet other times, she looks at me to show she’s heard what I’ve had to say, but she still does what she wants regardless.

I used to try to address every little bit, the small and the big, but I am running low on mental gymnastics capabilities (the mush brain doesn’t help either) and unique creative solutions.  I figure that at some point, they’ll have to just learn to navigate through the roller coaster ride and get past it.  Lately, I’ve been trying to involve Sam in finding a solution that works for her.  I ask her what she wants me to do about it.  She is after all trying to assert more of her independence by doing things herself, and I encourage that.  It is a longer process but I like it that somehow it teaches her how to handle her own frustrations and temperament.

I’ve been told that all of this is normal 4-year old behavior.  No one talks about it like they do with the terrible two’s though, and that makes me wonder.  My friends and I used to say that at the two’s we rise to the challenge and the three’s wear us down.  By the time we hit the four’s we’re spent.  That could be true!  I’ve also been told that I have a lot of this in my life because I have girls.  Boys would just shake it off and run it out (now is that true?).  Girls like to play up the emotions, build some form of drama and drag it through to infinity and beyond

And because they are girls, I don’t think the drama and defiance will ever really go away soon (my poor husband, he has the THREE of us to contend with!).  So I do have more years ahead of me and I should think of this as merely just the prep stages!  I’ll let you know in a couple of years if I come out of them alive. 😉

What are the challenges you face with your kids and how do you handle it?

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