Battle Of The Cheese Sandwich

     Around noon I asked my daughter what she wanted for lunch. A cheese sandwich was her request. So like any mom I went a head and made it. She should eat it fine, after all she asked for it. Not fine as I soon found out. She took one bite and said she was full. This is a new tread with her. She doesn't want to sit still long enough to eat so she will take a bite or two and proclaim she is stuffed and try to run off. So I put her back in her chair and asked her to please finish her lunch. She promptly climbed back down and ran and hid. I went and got her and put her back in her chair and calmly asked her to please finish her lunch. She FLIPPED OUT ya'll.

     I am talking full on kicking and screaming. So I put her in time out. Where she began shrieking. I'm sure the neighbors heard and now think I am a terrible mother. She is almost 3 so I let her sit there and pitch her fit for 2 minutes. Then I went over to her and asked her to take some deep breaths with me and calm down. She did and got in my lap so we could discuss why she had been put in time out. I asked her why she thought I put her in time out. She said because she was running from me, I said well yes that it part of it but also that I asked her to finish her sandwich and she got down instead. I explained that there would be no TV or getting down to play until at least the sandwich was gone, not including the sides that came with the sandwich. She said she understood and sat back down to eat.

     Two bites later she was off and running again. So back in time out she went for two more minutes. Two more minutes of a tantrum and the neighbors hearing it and judging me pretty hard I'm sure. So when her time out was over I once again explained that she was in time out because she  got down instead of eating her sandwich. She decided that maybe she would eat the sandwich because Handy Manny was on and she was missing it because Mean Momma turned the TV off. After another bite she decided she didn't really care if she missed Handy Manny and took off. So once again I put her in timeout for two more minutes, where she yelled at me and kicked her little feet. Once it was over I explained to her ONCE AGAIN That if she would just eat her sandwich we could all get back to Handy Manny and his tools and move on with our day. I also decided to sit RIGHT NEXT TO HER so she wouldn't even think about getting back down. There is currently two bites left of the sandwich but she is steadily approaching the finish line.

     I guess what my point is, is that she is a free spirit and I struggle to find ways to discipline that work without crushing that free spirit. We do not yell, we do not label her, we try to use positive discipline at all times. We prefer to focus on the good things she does and not when she does disobey. We prefer to use time out so that she can calm down and then we can come together and discuss her feelings and why she acted out and why she got put in time out. What kinds of discipline do you use with your toddlers? Does time out help you? Once I get her down for a nap I will post a review of California Baby products.

Later Ya'll!