L&L

I had to pull out the Love & Logic on Xavier tonight.....
It was 20 minutes before bedtime and he was asking to watch a LeapFrog video ("right now!"). I told him that I would let him watch the video if there was time left after he brushed his teeth and got his jammies on. This compromise was not satisfactory for him and he demanded to watch it "right now". He was actually having a meltdown over it!

I stayed calm and he walked with me to the bathroom. I brushed his teeth with out saying a word. The funny thing was that although he was screaming "I wanna watch it right now!" and having a meltdown he was still 100% cooperative when it came to getting ready for bed.

When he was finished getting ready he was still begging to watch the movie. I told him in a calm voice "I am sorry but I offered you a compromise and you did not except. There will be no video tonight, but you can try again tomorrow." This sent him for a tailspin! We walked into his bedroom, he still wasn't fighting me, just crying . He climbed into his bed. I covered him up. He was still crying and saying he wanted to watch the video and "Please give me one more chance". I told him I was sorry about his choice. I gave him a hug and a kiss and walked out of his room.

He proceeded to cry and scream for 10-15 minutes. Then he yelled for me to come into his room so he could tell me something. I walked in and he says "Mommy, I love you". I said "I love you too buddy, but you have to learn that when Mommy and Daddy offer you a compromise you can choose to take it or leave it, but if you choose to "leave it" then the deal is done and no amount of crying is going to get you what you want." He said "OK Mommy". I hugged him again, walked out and he went to sleep.

Rod and I both felt terrible the entire time he was screaming. It definitely would have been easier on us to give in and let him watch the video, but I am glad I/we stuck to our guns. Hopefully he learns a lesson from the night. Better to learn now at the age of 3 than to wait until he's in the real world at 23 or 33. Poor little guy. He probably wishes I never took those parenting classes (lol).