Sigh

It's been a rough parenting night...setbacks in many areas have been endured with lots of tears, mainly (but not all) from Morgan. Life with a very independent four year old keeps me on my toes for sure. I have found that over the past few weeks we have been trying to teach some very difficult life lessons like telling the truth, following directions (even when you really suspected that it would be too tempting to do just the opposite of what you asked), and respect of other's property. I am finding that I am having a tough time trying to figure out the best way to get these concepts across. Of course, there are a lot of adults that don't get them either! Add to this the question "Why?" asked about a million times in an hour and you will get one frazzled mom.

So, experienced moms, what's a girl to do? I am especially struggling with truth vs. lying. Morgan just doesn't seem to get it. Of course, I don't expect her to get it right away. I have tried explaining that she needs to tell what really happened but that isn't working. I've been repeating my question, even sometimes explaining (when circumstances are such) that I won't get mad. I know she's only lying for self preservation (i.e. I didn't do it) but I want to stop it before it gets into a habit for her. And I know she understands because tonight AFTER she got into trouble, she started telling all the truths that she had fibbed about earlier in the evening. She's also started playing Patrick and me off each other (well Daddy said...) which has NOT been working, but again I don't want her to ever think this is acceptable. I'm really at a loss.

The house is quiet now. It breaks my heart that she went to bed sobbing. She's very tender-hearted. However, I had to follow through with what I said, which meant no TV, no snacks, and straight to bed after dinner. So here's hoping that everyone gets a refreshing night's sleep and we have a better day tomorrow.