Paige is a dramatic child. I've blogged about that before. Most of the time, her drama makes me smile and makes life funny. But lately, we've hit a bit of a wall in our relationship.
Most of the problem centers on the fact that she has started sucking her thumb again. And that frustrates me to no end. She quit sucking her thumb when she was 4. And it wasn't all that hard, to be honest. I told her that if she would stop, then I'd take her to the store and she could choose a toy. Which we did. It all worked great -- until a couple of months ago when she picked up the habit again.
I've tried gentle reminders ("Paige, thumb."), bandaids on her thumb, constantly painting her nails so the taste would deter her (which it didn't - nor did the bandaids), and finally resorted to scaring her. I've told her about getting teased myself when I started kindergarten and was still sucking my thumb. The peer pressure worked for me. But apparently no one teases her about it. I've told her that she'll have buck teeth. I've pointed out the large bump that has reappeared on her thumb as a result. All to no avail.
Saturday, the girls and I had a little outing to get pedicures (I'll blog more about it later). On the way home in the car, and after dozens of more gentle reminders to stop sucking her thumb, I kind of lost it. I angrily pulled her thumb out of her mouth and not-so-nicely told her to STOP SUCKING HER THUMB!! When we pulled in the driveway, she bolted from the car, turned around and stuck her tongue out at me. All before locking the rest of us out of the house. After she finally opened the door, I sent her to her room. She screamed in frustration and slammed her door.
Once she was in her room, I'm sure her thoughts went something like this: "What can I do to REALLY get back at mom? What would she hate the most? Oooohhhh... I know. Look how clean my room is. Look how spotless my closet is. I'll throw all of my clothes on the floor. Awesome! Everything off of the hangers, too! This is so great. She'll be furious! Now, I'm gonna pull all of my sheets and everything off my bed. How about those drawers, too? She's gonna be so mad!! Lastly, I'm going to scratch off the adorable pedicure I just had. That'll really put her over the edge."
Let me tell you ... seeing the total disaster that was her room was the 2x4 that broke this camel's back. Good thing Mike was home by then because I totally lost it. I knew I absolutely could not deal with the aftermath. Mike was a much better parent than I that day.
She picked up the room, of course. And has since apologized. But we're still left with the thumb-sucking issue and I'm at a total loss. All of you reading this -- feel free to heap on some negative peer pressure. Convince her to stop. Thumb-sucking aside, though, fast forward 10 years with her strong-willed personality and we're in serious trouble. No joke.
5 comments:
Ok... I know I'm not supposed to be laughing, but I am laughing at you I am laughing with you... because we have other issues!! I'd love to chat further about this.
If I didn't remember Ellie's birth so well, I'd say that our six year-olds were twins separated at birth. I loved the thumb sucking when she was a baby, because she was so easy. Now I just see mounting orthodontia bills. If you figure out a solution, make sure you blog about it!
You must have been really over the edge because you didn't even take a picture for the blog. I'm sorry! Connor sucked his until probably 8, but only in the privacy of his room at night. And look at his great smile. Don't worry too much about it. You have bigger things in store, I'm sure. Love you. Word verification is perv.
Well, I don't have any thumb-sucking issues or advice, but I do have a strong-willed child. I pray constantly that it won't be the death of me. Minus the thumb-sucking, this experience could be a page out of my life. And I lose it more often than not. So I am completely sympathizing with you. The thing is-- don't be too hard on yourself. Mike was the "better parent" that day because he hadn't been through ALL of it. He was there at the end, able to be calm and rational because he didn't have to deal with everything you did. Kevin is the same way--he saves my bacon every time, partially because he just IS more patient and rational, but partially because he's there at the end and hasn't been worn down to a stub like I have been. So give yourself a break. The thing that I am trying to come to grips with is this. At what point do you just let them make their own choices, as stupid or detrimental as they are? I know if he would just listen to me, he would be happier in the long run and would be able to avoid the problems I see coming. At what point do you just let them suck their thumbs and get bumps on their fingers and buck teeth? I have a REALLY HARD TIME letting things go like that, and I don't even know if I should let things go, but I realize at some point, I'm going to have to. So at WHAT point?? Anyway... that is a way too long explanation to just let you know I am so totally with you on this. And it is SO HARD! So sorry!
Wow. That's about all I have to say. Wow. What are we going to do with these powerful little girls of ours? It's rough, I tell you! Though Bitty has never done anything that dramatic yet. Of course, she's only 4. There is still time!
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