>Bratty Boot Camp
>”Come give Daddy a hug,” Hubs wheedled the other day as Baby sat in my lap.
“No! I Mommy’s baby! I do not! Like! DADDY!”
I couldn’t help but giggle as Baby turned her face into the crook of my arm. I felt bad for Hubs, but what could I say? Of course Baby loved me. I’m like, an awesome mom!
Two hours later while I was changing her diaper, she smacked me in the face, called me a little punk and all bets were off.
It was time for Bratty Boot Camp.
“I’ve had it, Baby, ” I said, pacing back and forth across her room while she stood defiantly among her toys. “You are getting spoiled and rude. And it’s going to stop. It’s Bratty Boot Camp time.”
She had no idea what I was talking about, but it made me feel better and I hoped she could at least see by my face that I meant business.
“Hubs, from now on, she’s going in the Naughty Corner every single time she misbehaves,” I said. “I don’t care if it’s ten times in one day. We’ve got to eliminate the brattiness. And I need you to be on board.”
“I’m totally on board,” he said solemnly. “She’s not nice to me and it’s got to stop.”
The next day, Baby threw a bunch of cereal on the kitchen floor and howled at me. I knew what I had to do.
As she stood in the Naughty Corner for the required two minutes, she sobbed with indignation.
“But I didn’t do it!” She cried. “It was Quackwees!“
“No, it was you,” I said grimly.
“But I love you!” She tried again after a few seconds. Ouch. How had she learned manipulation so early? Still, I stood my ground.
When her two minutes were up, I sat down beside her and said quietly, “Are you through being naughty?”
“Yes,” she sniffed. We ended in a hug and she was good for the rest of the afternoon.
Awwwww, yeah! I thought to myself. The Naughty Corner ROCKS!
Unfortunately, I had won the battle, but not the war. Baby continues to have outbursts from time to time, far more than she’s ever had before. The naughty corner is still in effect about once a day. But at least I have Hubs on my side.
Or so I thought.
After a long afternoon spent with him yesterday, Baby apparently decided daddies were the new mommies. When he brought her down from the playroom to see me, she screamed and cried, “No no! I no like Mommy! I want Dada!“
I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to go all Naughty Corner on her. “Bratty Boot Camp!” I whispered through gritted teeth.
Instead, an indulgent smile spread across his face.
“We’re buddies again!” he crowed.
Jerk.
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>Kids absolutely know how to manipulate parents and it starts EARLY. And if one parent won’t do what they want then the other becomes the new favorite.
>OMG you’ve really made me laugh out loud!I can really relate to your husband here. Trillian NEVER took to me, as a baby, as a toddler, or as a young child.But lately, she’s figured out that I am wrapped around her little finger – and she’s starting to use it to her advantage.Don’t be too mad – it’s still you she turns to when she cries, I’m sure.
>lol baby won!! My son when he was like 2 would be naughty and I would have to pick him up to put him on the naughty step he would look at me and sing the barney song( I love you you love me) It melted my heart… He won a few times too lol :)If you notice I have been checking out your blog a few times a day I am not a stalker Ive just been checking in for the new baby news 🙂
>Congrats for your Blog! It’s wonderfull! Kisses!
>Go, Baby. That girl’s going to wind up running the world!
>I quite agree with Hubs on this one.(I suppose that will come as no surprise there. There are so few times when kids want dada.)And when do kids learn manipulation? They don’t. They’re born knowing how. It’s an instinct.Another enjoyable post.
>Oh, god…we need bratty boot camp over here big time.
>I’m implementing Bratty Boot Camp around here too. My 3 year old is driving me nuts. He is openly defiant and it will stop. I’ve decided that the whole “terrible twos” thing is a myth. It’s 3 that you have to worry about.
>Manipulation is part of their DNA code. One day researchers will find the gene for it, just watch.When the Toddler goes all “I want Daddy” on me, I gladly let them have each other. After all, I’m home with her all day so he can have her for a while. And he’s rapidly learned to draw his own line in the sand.
>I remember the first time our middle child decided he didn’t want to have anything to do with my wife and only wanted Dada. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. But not bad enough though that I didn’t secretly enjoy it. *shhh*
>Oh I’m all for bratty bootcamp. We started time out when J was about 18m months. IT definitely works!
>LOL! At 2 and 3 my son spent so much time in the Naughty Corner he started moving furniture in!
>she’s brilliant, really. he, however, needs to get on board. seriously, you are hilarious. and i am dealing w/ much of the same…it’s either vodka, or towing the line. or maybe both.
>I would tell Hubs that he isn’t too big for the Naughty Corner!
>I loved this post! What are you going to call Baby after Baby #2 joins the household?
>I started baby boot camp at my house too.
>The return of Quackwees! Hurray!
>Yuck. Sounds like something Tim would do. Leah is definitely preferential toward me and if this happened, he too would be so happy she was choosing him over me that he would abandon all punishment, too.
>Bah, they are fickle little buggers. Pumpkinpie was a daddy girl for so long and always telling me she didn’t love me, she loved daddy. But now she’s on a mommy kick, so I’m soaking it up while the soaking’s good.
>My son definitely knows how to put on the charm when he needs to do so. In our house, Daddy gets to be the playmate, while Mommy gets the great joy of constant discipline. While this has been a point of contention between my husband and I, I could not help but gloat when my daughter said something smart to him today and added, ” I get my discipline from Mama”. That’s right, baby! Out of the mouths of babes! I could not resist the urge to gloat!!!!