At first I thought ok, maybe she needs me to pay more attention to her. So when Ruby and Henry are napping June and I read a story or color a picture. We talk about the day and she tells me stories. I felt like maybe that was helping until day 3, she broke the tip of her green crayon, and you would have thought her big toe had been severed off.
Now I'm a crier. I was that girl, ok I might still be, where my dad could look at me funny and I would cry. But I don't cry over spilled milk. Stella does. Daily. I decided that we would talk through the tears, in addition to the extra attention she was getting. I calmly ask, why are you crying? Why are there tears immediately falling over your shirt being the wrong color. The answers were as irrational as the tears. My favorite being "My body is just telling me to cry!!!"or "RUBY is just ANTAGONIZING ME!"(yes my 5 year old uses the word antagonize, and she uses it correctly...)
My patience at this point is wearing thin. Putting her in time out doesn't ease the tears, one on one time isn't either. Talking through her emotions only makes me laugh, which makes her cry and kicking her butt every time isn't an option; I don't need CFS knocking on my door.
My newest approach? Taking her photo.
Yes I understand that it's not that nice, but I'm at my whits end with all the damn tears that are falling over nothing and everything all day long. There is rarely a conversation that happens without those alligator tears. So I am taking her picture to snap her out of the mood, to document the ridiculousness, to keep me from losing my mind.
I'm am so terrified for her teenage years. Completely terrified.
love love
OH dear- my Brynlee went through that- its VERY difficult for us as mothers. I would finally resorted to just asking her to please take her crying into her room (after of course trying to figure out the cause- to which there really was none). She would go into her room, cry it all out- and come out when she was finished. May the force be with us- they are soon to be teenagers!
ReplyDeleteYup...I have one like that. And I've been doing what Ashley does. If I am sure it is over nothing, I just say "Okay, go cry in your room and come back when you're happy!" and act like it's nothing. I don't say it sarcastically or with anger, but just matter of fact. It has been happening less and less! :) Heaven help us when they're teenagers!!!
ReplyDeleteI ran across your blog from your facebook page this morning, it has seriously been forever since I have seen you! How are you? Anyway, I just had to comment because I swore that my 4 (almost 5 year old) was the only child that cried over EVERYTHING! I am sorry that I don't have any advice to give other than occasionally I bribe her with candy, LOL, that is only thing that stops it and at the grocery store... I just don't want to look like "that mom" that can't control her child! I know that is totally the wrong thing to do, but seriously let me know if you discover anything that works for you! BTW, you look great and look like you have such a beautiful family and I always hear good things about you in the ward. If you didn't know, I live in the duplex that you used to live in.
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