Eh. Don’t let that look fool ya. 95% of the time is is given on command or to elicit a smile from one of her parents. Only in the last couple of days has this “stink face” been used in the appropriate context. :) I am sure it will be a lovely part of a very spirited childhood.
I am working on the diaper bag post. Ran out of juice tonight. But…
I ran across this quote & it made me think of what we are dealing with as parents right now. Little Miss Sass has been a very different child for me & her “dadeeeee.” We were talking about the differences in our parenting & how my raised voice doesn’t ever give me the response I am looking for when I use it with caroline. She never does to him what she does to me. So I watched. He always gets her to do what he wants. He never raises his voice. He is MUCH more patient. But she follows his directions almost all of the time.
& then we talked. My husband made the point that he never wants to yell at our daughter. He never wants her to feel like it is okay to be treated that way. No one else should feel like it is okay to treat her that way either. & if we create our normal, and yelling is a part of our normal, I am certain that my child will take it with her the rest of her life as normal. Then she will choose how she wants to treat her children. We are making the choice to be respectful. Firm, but respectful. As hard as it is not to raise my voice, a little more patience & consistent direction is actually working. Imagine that.

I’ve been working on this as part of my Lent commitment. I realized it was an issue when I listened to the way Haley spoke to Kale. I didn’t like it and I knew exactly where she got it from. Gooooodness, it’s been difficult. Especially since I come from a home of yellers. But you’re right, the kids respond so much better. And I think of when I was in the classroom. It never would have flown for me to talk to those kids the way I talk to my own. Why would I treat my children less? So I’m working on it. Frustration and the 24/7 nature of the job doesn’t make it easy, but improvement is showing.
I’m a yeller, but working on it, and getting better… I have 3 children and it’s hard to get my point across sometimes without yelling..But I don’t want my kids to reflect back and remember, “Mom always yelled at us.” I also started very young and I think that’s part of it.. Who knows, we just want to do right for the kiddos. :)
I love how honest you are being. My family did a lot of yelling when I was growing up, and it’s something I am sure I will deal with, as I always seems to resort to it with the hubby. But I agree that I do not want to yell with Jarvis! Good luck, and good for you for realizing and trying :)
I LOVE that quote! And very insightful thoughts after it! Sounds like you have a very good partner to raise your child with! :)
What a wonderful reminder! My 8 month old is just starting to get a bit sassy and test my patience, and I know I have ahead of me in that area! haha… but oh, that face! I love it. She’s so darn cute! But I’m sure you have your hands full. I predict some interesting teenage years. ;)
love it. so so true and wise. i love the philosophy that we create what their normal is. i just loooooveeeeee it!!!
A friend told me about your blog. I was hooked after reading your baby food posts. And have enjoyed reading. Now I have to post a comment… your daughter is just too cute in that picture. wow!
I am so grateful to Bree for putting a link to your blog in her post yesterday!! Your words in the post above immediately resonated with me, and I’ve been totally absorbed in some of your older posts. Some of my best and worst behaviors as a mom come from my mom. I am constantly feeling that I need to change my approach so that my daughter does not grow up with the same bad behaviors that I have. Just wait until your daughter is a little older, you will find that she imitates everything you do and say, including your tone of voice. Kids are like a big mirror reflecting everything right back at you.
I have a daughter (4) and a son (2), and I’m a stay-at-home mom (formerly a career woman) with a love of photography. I just wanted to say that I love your blog.
I couldn’t agree more