Brave About Life

On the way home from church, my three-year old announced, "I was brave about life in my class today Mom."

I like that idea, I think I'll try it too :-)

My frustration, that may bring a smile to some and perhaps to me much later in life is this:  I can't punish my kids because they each keep taking each other's "licks". Let me explain. I've learned that each child requires a completely different award/punishment system. Well, the highly emotional daughter I talked about the other day, is mostly motivated by the treats she will get at some point in her day. She'll just cry and cry when I "take away" her treat privilege. But, wouldn't you know it, the other two kids inevitably plan this "mission" to give her part of their treat.

My youngest, living up to the complete role of "baby of the family" often refuses to eat her food. She'll obsinately sit beside her plate of food, doesn't even have to beg or ask, and one of the other kids will offer to eat her food so she can join them or have dessert or whatever.

You see what I am up against here? My life must be spinning out of control. I started this post a few days ago, and just tonight this happened: my youngest was sent to her room for not obeying (truly, if I actually disciplined her for every time she disobeyed, she would spend her entire day in her room) and not even two minutes passed before I heard my older daughter in the room reading books with her sister.

My son doesn't usually have a support group, but he is almost always willing to lessen the girls' load, by either quickly picking up someone else's mess or eating someone's food. So, this is my point and moral for being brave about life -- find a support group :-).