Things I have learned... things that work.

[totoro]

WFEN~ What is funny is that we all play with the things in the baskets! Even the In-Laws... We have little puzzles in them, a Rubiks cube... I pick up things on sale or at discount stores any time I think of it.

 

[Mac&Cheese]

Wow, Lots of great ideas here, amazing how some of them we have found to try are so similar! The time out in difficult children room until anger subsides. I calmly tell him he can come out of his room when he can be a nice young man. IT WORKS!!, after the fit is over anyway. Staying calm is soooo important. I get so mad at myself in hindsite when I loose my temper! Sometimes I feel like a 6 year old kid is whooping my rear, outsmarting me, etc. STAY Calm, STAY Calm......
Wonderful family is right about tag teaming with the husband..I have so much respect for you single parents. There are times when I just have to turn it over to husband, I can only imagine how hard it is to not have that option.
I also find I can handle difficult child much better if I am rested and "OKAY" myself. We all have good days and bad days, I try to recognize my day in advance so I realize I may be low on patience.
Lastly, I always remember the 9 month period of time I spent watching helplessly as my beloved son battled & died from Leukemia. I remember thinking the last month of his life that it was a "GOOD DAY" each day he was still alive. I use that now. It is a GOOD DAY because my remaining children are alive. It helps me to keep everything in perspective. Our children are truely Gifts From God just as they are. The much sadder lot in life is to have no one to love and care for....Linda

 

[janebrain]

Hi Linda,
don't mean to highjack thread, just wanted to acknowledge your son's death--that must have been so heartbreaking. I, too, lost a loved one (my husband, the kids' dad) to Leukemia---actually it was complications from a bone marrow transplant due to the leukemia. I am truly sorry for your loss,
Jane

 

[Mac&Cheese]

Bless you Jane. Our son also went thru a stem cell transplant but relapsed. The pain and heartache of losing a child can't be put into words. You understand the point I am trying to make...No matter how distressing your difficult children are, the work you do, the patience you need, the tears you shed....You are working so hard to give your child a great life! They have a future and you can try to make a difference...cherish those difficult children!