Cranky

            Celia has been on edge for the last week. She now cries enormously anytime she doesn’t get her way. It’s quite shocking to me, because up till now she’s been such a pleasant child. Now, whether it’s moving her to another activity, taking something away from her, or telling her we’ll do something later, she’ll erupt into massive wails and big tears.

            Last night was no exception. I’ve been trying to guard our dinner time, and let her know that she can eat with us, but not play at the table while we’re eating. She needs to know that “Mommy and Daddy are going to finish dinner before doing things with her.”

            We had a couple of guests over for dinner, and after Celia had eaten her full she ran off, but soon came back, bouncing up and down at Michelle’s feet with her arms raised and wailing, “Mommy! Mommy!”

            Michelle picked her up, her huge pregnant belly diminishing proper lap real estate awkwardly, making that last bit of salad almost impossible to eat. Celia wasn’t content to simply sit with Michelle. She wanted to play.

            “Mommy’s eating dinner right now. After dinner we can do something together,” Michelle told Celia nicely.

            Celia wanted none of it. She pulled and whined at Michelle. Michelle looked at me, and I said, “Celia, come sit with me.” I put my arms out.

            Celia looked at me, then buried her face into Michelle’s arm. This wasn’t going to be easy.

            Michelle said, “Celia, I’m going to hand you to Daddy.” She started lifting Celia and I took her.

            Let the wails begin.

            Her face turned bright red, tears streamed down, snot rolled off her lip, and Celia’s mouth was open as wide as it could go as she cried and cried and cried.

            Over her raucous noise, I explained to my friends that I was trying to teach her proper manners, that this crying behavior is relatively new, and that sometimes she does get her way, for minor things, which is probably why she does it. I figured we’ve got to break this behavior now, while it’s still new and fresh, rather than letting it get out of hand.

            Meanwhile, Celia continued to wail. I started giving her attention. I tickled her. I did “This little piggy” with both sets of toes. The funniest thing about the piggy’s was that she would be crying, then get this silly grin on her face when I was near the end and about to tickle her whole body. She’d actually giggle when I started tickling her, then go back to crying as soon as I finished.

            She did the same thing with the “Got Your Nose” trick. When I “held” her nose, she was all smiles, but as soon as it went back on her face, the cries returned.

            Finally, Michelle finished, and I gave Celia back to her. The crying stopped instantly, and we all had a mental breather. I think it’s going to be difficult for us to enforce it, but I believe it’s of the utmost importance that we don’t reward this kind of behavior. I see too many kids getting their way at a much older age with similar tactics, and it disturbs me. I’m a big softy in a lot of ways, but I’m not going to bend on this kind of stuff. We need to lay down a firm foundation with her now, and I think she’ll have a better sense of boundaries and self-esteem in the long run.