Operation: Stay cool, calm & collected

February 26, 2009~

Lately for whatever reason I've been a little short tempered with the kids.  As a result I've actually been able to see a difference in the kids' temperament.  Instead of asking me for things they whine and cry and they fight like mortal enemies.  It always seems like we're in a constant struggle; they scream, I scream, they scream louder, etc.  And the louder, madder and more short tempered I get the louder, madder and more short tempered they get.  So I've decided to NEVER scream and always keep a totally calm head.  That way the situation will never get too escalated and they'll realize that it's easier just to stay calm.  I'd like to think I'm naturally like that.  Andy used to tell me that's one of the things he liked most about me, that I maintained the "3 C's".  But lately I've just been a little crazy.  Anyway, yesterday (Day 1) went great.  The kids were still out of control but slightly less so than usual and I managed to go the entire day without losing my cool.  Today is about the same so far, but it's my birthday so that always puts me in a better mood.  I certainly don't expect to get instantaneous results but I am pretty optimistic.  I've certainly been able to see the major downturn these past few weeks.

I should also mention that by not yelling at the kids I am not excusing anything they do and they certainly won't be getting away with any more than usual.  I still expect to hand out my fair share of spankings and stern warnings (not screaming) but I'll at least be in the right frame of mind when doing so.  Wish me luck.  Who knows, maybe I just have uncontrollable kids and this is my excuse for a crazy physiological experiment but I'll certainly keep you informed on how it goes, successful or not.

UPDATE:  I wrote this post on February 26th but didn't get around to posting it until March 21st.  Since I started with my no yelling policy things have surprisingly gotten better.  I can't exactly say I haven't screamed at all since then but it's definitely a lot more rare and the kids take me more seriously when I do.  I've definitely seen an improvement in them.  They've been a lot more calm and as a whole I think we've all been happier with the new change.  I would say it's a success!