Meltdown at the Library

Carter will probably hate me in a few years for posting this. But it is so hilarious that I just have to share and have a record of it.

First of all, let me explain that I've just finished rereading Parenting With Love and Logic. It's the third time I've read and it and I finally broke down and purchased it because I love it so much. Anyway, the premise of the book is to parent with natural consequences. It works SO well with my kids and I feel totally in control of my emotions when I'm using the principles in the book. It recommends that you give kids 2 choices with consequences attached and let them choose.

So yesterday we were at the library getting some stuff. Carter has started to read chapter books and I just can't keep buying at the rate he is reading. I also let each of the kids choose 1 movie for the week. So we're walking out of the library and C asks if he can watch his movie when we get home. I said no because he had already used his TV time for the day and he needed to eat and get off to soccer practice. He immediately started to cry and whine (and seriously, Carter is a champion whiner!!!) that I wouldn't let him watch the movie. I stopped and gave him two choices:

1. Stop whining and take the movie home to watch later this week OR
2. Continue whining and mom would return the movie right then

He chose the first option but then continued to whine. I stopped and gave him the options again. He again chose the first option. By now we had walked right out the doors of the library and he was whining and grumbling as we were walking to the car. I stopped, took the movie from him and took it back into the library and returned it. No idle threats from this mom.

Here's where it gets so funny. He was standing outside the library bawling and pounding on the glass window shouting "No, no, no, no" over and over. I came out and very calmly told him that he could try again next week when we came back to the library. He was so angry with me but I held firm.

We got in the car and he was still really upset. I could see the wheels turning in his head to try to think of the WORST possible thing to threaten me with. He said, "fine then mom, I'm only going to take one bite of my food from now on and throw the rest away." Calmly I said, "ok, you're going to get very hungry though." Then he said, "Fine mom, when I get home I'm going to run around the tree in our front yard so hard and long that I get dizzy and throw up." (By now, I am desperately trying not to burst out laughing in front of him.) I told him that I would be sad if he got sick and couldn't go to soccer.

He eventually calmed down but I can tell this has made a big impression on him. He's talked about it a lot and I just keep reminding him that HE chose to whine and lost his movie privilege as a result.

Aaaahhh... isn't parenting grand?!?