The first confiscation of some of Gaby's property.. first of many...

As Gaby is getting closer to 'preschool' age, her behaviour is changing. Yet again. Past couple of weeks she has been so strong willed, it is starting to wear me out!!! I will ask her to do something & she will tell me "no", or just pretend like she hasn't heard me - and when she does eventually do whatever it is, she'll do it differently, compared to how I asked her - almost as if to show me that she still has the upperhand! The most irritating thing though, is her continuously doing things I ask her not to - such as getting into the coffee/sugar/etc - before I wake up, and tipping it all around the kitchen, into the jug, into the toaster, into the breakfast spreads... was kinda funny the first two times, but since then, not so funny.

Today she got a box of my tampons & tipped them ALL down the toilet - shouldn't be a big deal, but due to PMS - it seemed like a HUGE freakin' deal, and I kind of lost it with her - though not inappropriately, I was just more hard than usual. I put her in timeout for her 3 minutes, took her out & explained why she was in timeout, blah blah - but the look on her face, I could tell she didn't give a damn - so I took away all her DVD's!! There is usually a DVD on the TV ALLLLL day - she doesn't really watch them for long, but they're always in the background, while she plays. But as of midday - NO DVD'S FOR THE REST OF THE DAY... and I have to say, since then she has been VERY good, I asked her to tidy up her toys, and she tidied up the shoes and clothes that were lying around as well, then she came to me & kept telling me how much she loves me, and that I'm her favourite... Greasing me up to get her DVD's back - obviously!

There is always a big emphasis on what sort of disciplinarian you are going to be, as a parent - authoritarian, permissive, democratic - will you spank, use timeout, this that & the other thing - but what no one REALLY tells you, is that after making the decision as to what sort of disciplinarian you will be (whether it's a conscious or sub-conscious decision) - you have to continuously adapt and reassess the different methods you USE when it comes to discipline....

Obviously it's a joy to watch your child developing, reaching their developmental milestones, becoming more indepedent & their *own* person.... but sometimes, that process is dang hard, and leaves you pulling your hair out!