Let me preface this by saying I love my kids more than life itself. I would literally do ANYTHING for them...BUT I hate, HATE, tough love. I hate disciplining them. I hate threatening unpleasant things. I hate being frustrated with them. I hate it. I love them. All this said because my 3 year old has been really pushing boundaries lately. He's talking back a lot and disobeying way too much of the time. I know that we'll get through this period of life but I just need to get out how hard it feels. All I want to do is enjoy him and love on him! All that said, the irony is not lost on me as I'm quite certain this is how God feels about ME most of the time!
I guess I'll take the small victories for now.
Posts
5 comments:
Oh, I am SO with you. Part of me wishes they just stayed three months old and cute, snuggly and smiley. No, not really, but it crosses my mind now and then.
Teaching and discipline sure is hard. Especially when they're in the "extra pushy" stages. I'll pray for ya, that you stay strong, Mama, and have a little more of God's comfort when those long days are over and a little extra wisdom so you know just what to do to teach your little guy. :)
Hey Nicole,
Alicia here..
Proud of you for just getting that out. Sometimes we just don't let ourselves do that. I've recently been in a very tough place with my tween who turns 12 soon. I use to think things would get easier when they got out of thier stuborn toddler years but then they just get smarter and the verbal circles of debate get dizzing! I don't mean to discourage you but I say this to say that recently the Lord showed me that I needed to accept that all parenting is hard. It is of great value and therefore takes so much work. If it was not hard it would mean I had stopped caring or trying. It's because of your great love for them that it is hard. You have a goal and a vision for thier hearts as like you said, God does for us.
So, I won't be one of those mushy people who will tell you it will pass. It will go in phases and God will give you many more moments of amazing encouragement, but it's a journey all the way.
Those small victories get us through and God reminds me that just as He's not done with them yet, He's also not done with me.
You are doing a great job and you are so involved that you will feel every struggle deeply. He will look back and call you blessed because you were both caring enough to keep chugging along.
I will pray for encouragement for you and some extra sunshine to lift you up (figurative that is:).
Nicole-
We are going through the SAME THING. I really miss my sweet little boy. I feel like he is on time out all the time and it's just not working (for either of us). You've given me an interesting perspective. I guess I'll be dishing out even more grace tomorrow. Glad to know I'm not alone. You're a great mom!
Three is a hard age. They want independence, but a big part of their identity is still wrapped up in Mommy. Two theories on parenting and discipline that helped us are "1 2 3 Magic" and "Parenting with Love and Logic". See if they're at your library-otherwise you'll find them on Amazon. Both of these books give parents tools that teach kids acceptable choices and make them (kids/parents) responsible for their own actions. Hugs!
I know what you mean!
Post a Comment