Comments on: Moral Dilemma

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:39:30 +0000

Some of my most humiliating moments have been in churches! Like the time my son kept jumping over a pew in a very large and well-known church we were visiting, and when I told him that if he wouldn't stop then we had to leave…he started screaming "NOOOOOOOO" and flailing all over as I attempted to carry him kicking and screaming from one end of the auditorium to the other, where several thousand people were trying to listen to the sermon. He dropped to the floor and kicked at me, and my skirt flew up practically over my head as I bent down to try and regain my hold on him. His screaming ensured that every pair of eyes was on us. I then dragged him all the way out of view, down the stairs and into the street where pedestrians could only look and wonder if they were witnessing a child abduction. At the time, you are hoping and wishing for the ground to swallow you whole, but later it makes some great memories to look back on!
And no way should you worry about paying for the pew…any church worth it's weight would simply be happy to have you grace it's doorways and not worry about the cost incurred.

By: Miss Notesy

Miss Notesy — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:29:12 +0000

Oh, and before you go, you might want to sit him down in a chair at home and tell him that he's going to have to sit very still for a long time. Tell him exactly how you want him to behave and what is not acceptable. For some reason, this sounds so stupid, even to me as I type it, but it has always worked like a charm with my kids and I have a VERY active barely-three year old.

Even today we went to a park with some friends and I told 3yo, "Mama doesn't want you jumping in puddles okay? Are you going to jump in puddles?" He said, "No." Then I asked, "What if your friends are allowed to jump in puddles?" He still said no. I went on to say, "If I tell you something one time, does that mean that you disobey me or do you obey me right away?" He said, "Right away." and he was actually really good!

By: Miss Notesy

Miss Notesy — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:22:51 +0000

Color Wonder items are all amazing if you haven't already discovered them. Also, both of my kids love their leapsters (youngest was 2) and the games are educational.

By: Carissa

Carissa — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:36:11 +0000

I did a cross country flight by myself with two little girls: ages 1.5 & 4. You'll be fine: Strollers are lifesavers. We are doing it again this May and they are now 3 & 5.5… I am replacing the stroller with my mother
But seriously, they loved it and still talk about it to this day. They love to travel and I am so glad I instilled that in them.

By: mssinglemama

mssinglemama — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:04:05 +0000

Wow. Thank you so much.

By: cilantroh

cilantroh — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:52:36 +0000

here's a link to the Rescue Remedy home - it's a mixture of flower essences (distilled from the plant) that calms the nervous system. They also have a whole section for kids. http://www.bachflower.com/Rescue_Remedy.htm

By: Shiona

Shiona — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:54:19 +0000

I would call to offer a donation. Church pews are generally pretty sturdy. Even the feistiest kid shouldn't be able to break it after such a short time.

By: mssinglemama

mssinglemama — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:04:06 +0000

Do you have a single brother?

By: Nina

Nina — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:00:30 +0000

I agree. to suggest a screaming child is always because of bad parenting is thoughtless. my son at 7 mos was stellar on a flight, imho, where even adults were screaming due to turbulence. he did scream though, he got tired and everytime he was almost asleep the “friendly” people next to us would smile and laugh and try to amuse him…its hard to say to people who are trying to be helpful PLEASE STOP!

do try the benadryl pre-flight (it wires me) and ask your ped as most cold meds are banned for kids under 5 now.

swedish fish is my chewy item of choice. loads of snacks – he ate so much flying…much more than typical. we have a 5 hr xcntry flight in july. I did get him his own seat but may check his car seat cause I’ve seen some flight attendents force you to keep them buckled in the whole time. also ask when you get to the airport if the bulkhead is open. they usually won’t pre-book these as they are supposed to keep them open for handicapped and kids. sucks for putting stuff away but no one to kick and more room. dress him in layers cause its usually too hot or too cold flying. bring cash so you can buy yourself a drink to help relax. and get the CDs ‘love and logic for preschool to 6 yr olds’ from your local library NOW- active does not equal uncontrollable but he could not possibly have split a pew without it having some flaw. think how relieved all the fat people in the world are it would be humiliating to break a pew from sitting…you could get them to contribute to replacing it since your son did them a favor! lol

By: thewarriorpoets

thewarriorpoets — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:50:39 +0000

There's a big difference between "bad behavior" and a child being stressed due to unusual circumstances, or even in some cases of flying, pain or discomfort. We're not talking about a 7 year old here who can be somewhat rationalized with or who can understand the threat of great bodily harm.

And while a kid acting out in the grocery store because mom won't cave for the M&M request can just be yanked by the arm out to the Volkswagen in only the way an angry and embarrased mother can do, it's kind of hard to do that at 27,000 feet. Sometimes the appropriate remedy for a parent is ignoring the behavior, and that takes patience on everyone's part. There's times the more you react, the more Uncooperative Toddler reacts, as if they understand proportional ratios.

Bad parenting is bad parenting. But if people can't appreciate that children, especially very young children, react unpredictably in situations that are stressful even for supposedly grown adults, well, then shame on them.