He's Back

It's been awhile since I've had a post devoted to this little man. Truth be told, he's been somewhat of a pill the past few months.....Maybe it's a delayed reaction to sharing the limelight with a little sis or perhaps it's just the age, but I'm glad to announce he seems to be coming out of his "Four 1/2 Year Funk." I won't bore you with long drawn out details of said funk, but it's highlights included a revertion back to whining- lots of it, some doozy tantrums (I thought we had left those behind at 3) and quite a bit of new attitude. We've had to work really hard to get his behaviors in check which has included losing privileges & toys, lots of time-outs and of course positive reinforcement for good behaviors such as using his manners, following directions and being helpful. I don't know how many times I've had to say "Would you like to try that again?" when reminding him to use manners to politely ask for something instead of just demanding it.

It's funny, because so many of my friends are pregnant or have recently had their first borns and I know from experience how wrapped up you get in all of the newborn/infancy stages, but in my opinion, real parenting begins when they get older and you have to teach them so much to become the people you want them to be. For example how to be a good winner/loser playing games, cleaning up even when you didn't make the mess, saying "hello" and being friendly when people address you, humility, perserverance and general patience. Geesh, that's just a bit of what we've been working on! Being a teacher and spending time with young kids has just reinforced how very important this is to me.

We definitely don't have it (parenting) all figured out, and there are many days where I feel like I'm getting a overall failing grade in the parenting department, but I'm happy to say that I'm pretty darn proud of the little person that Dylan is becoming four 1/2 year funks and all. Next week I'll be registering him for KINDERGARTEN. Seriously?? Five (almost) years have gone by in a blink and I know that the school years seem to go even faster. I'm crossing my fingers that FIVE is a funk-free year!