A friend of mine never seems to yell at her kids. They are pretty well-behaved, but when she does need to reprimand them, she does it in a soft, sweet voice. Then there's me, who screams something to the effect of "knock it off!" or "don't do that!" umpteen times a day. My kiddo is not a bad kid, but she is rather impulsive, stubborn and hard-headed. I actually am impressed with her imagination, determination and tenacity, except when it leads her to make poor decisions. Like trying to practice "skinning the cat"* by hanging onto the living room curtains. OK, so it was raining outside, and she really wanted to get it right. But not on the curtains!!
I asked my friend her secret, but she just kind of shrugged it off. Probably because she was thinking that my child is out of control or I just have no patience. But really, my kiddo is a good kid. She knows how to treat her toys (put them away!), the house (don't break it!), the cat (get off him!), and me (stop making noise when I'm on the phone!). It's just that when she forgets--and of course she forgets, she's a kid--reminding her in a soft, sweet voice just doesn't work.
*Skinning the cat is a gymnastics move involving a flip. No cats were injured in the writing of this post.
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