TIME-OUT TIME

I just thought I would do a little "journaling". Scott & I are huge advocates of time out. I don't think that it is always effective but it makes me feel like I am doing my part in disciplining my son when he is not so..."precious".

It has always worked so well, no matter where we were at, but now he has realized that it is not as effective when we are not at home. And he knows that if he cries I will let him out before he has done his time, but at home it is different story. He KNOWS that he has to sit there until we come and get him.

-Unfortunately-

Beckett has reached this stage of whining, defiance, meanness, revenge...and the word NO.

SIDE NOTE: We swore that we would not use the word no, rather we would explain to him what he was doing wrong and ask him to stop doing whatever it was. It worked for so long. It wasn't until 21/22 months that he really started to say no. I blame it on the fact that my mom goes by Nona and my desire for Beckett to know her name and to call her by it. Ever since he really got to know her name as Nona is when he lost all restrictions on saying NO...

If he doesn't like what we are telling him to do he tells us no, if I send him to timeout he says no, if he doesn't know how to answer a question he says NO. I am currently trying to teach him to say YES. He knows what yes is and insists on nodding. OH how I wish YES would replace NO.
Now that Monroe is here it is a little harder for me to discipline Beckett. He seems to know when my hands are full and when it is completely impossible for me to "tend" to him. As a result I have been telling him to go to time-out. The first few times he would just yell no at me, so I would put Monroe down and carry him in to time-out, all the while he hits, pinches, spits - ANYTHING he can do to show that he is deeply upset that he is being punished. He broke my heart the other day, he wasn't listening and came extremely close to hitting the baby, so I sent him to time-out, he turned and looked me straight in the eye and said no,(I sighed because I had just got Monroe to fall asleep and I knew the moment I put her down she would wake up) then he immediately turned around and started walking to his bedroom,(I was taken back, I didn't know what to do) and then about halfway there he turns around, and in the most angelic voice says "Bye-Bye" and waved to me as he proceeded to go to his room and sit in his time-out chair.(I didn't want him to go to time-out anymore, I had completely forgotten what it was that he did wrong and all I wanted to do was smother him in hugs & kisses and tell him what a good boy he was. How did he know that he could melt me with a few words and a little gesture?)

-Unfortunately-

He was in trouble, he had not listened to me, he could have potentially hurt his little sister (like he has on many other occasions) and I had to stick to my guns, because lets face it 2 year olds are smart and will prey on any weakness or inconsistencies.

- Fortunately-

Getting him to time out is the hardest, once he is there he will stay there until we come and get him. Which he did.